Pokemon Neo Black and White
by snivygamer97
Summary: We all know about Ash's journey through the Unova region. However, what if things went a little bit differently? What if he ran into Team Plasma? What if he brought back past Pokemon from previous regions to help train his new ones?
1. Prologue

Deep in a castle underground, a young man with green hair walked down the hall of a church-like room. As he passed six robed men, he started to think about Pokémon. His thoughts fueled with anger and concern over how they were treated. While he may not have had many interactions with Pokémon outside of the ones his father brought him, he still had a pretty good idea of how they were treated and the results were not pleasing. They were captured against their will, forced to battle, and were ultimately mistreated by their trainers. The man wanted more than anything to change all that, both for his own Pokémon and for Pokémon in general. But to do that he would need help, help that Team Plasma and his adoptive father, Ghetsis, could give him.

As the young man reached the end of the room, he stopped and turned to face the robed men. As he did so, Ghetsis approached him with a crown in his right hand and began to speak, "My fellow sages, today we stand here with a purpose. To rid the world of the trainers that would abuse Pokémon. Use them for their own benefit. To bring harm to other innocent Pokémon." The young man was still throughout the speech, the ideas being given by his father hardening his resolve. Suddenly, Ghetsis addressed his son, "But we can do something to stop their suffering if we are willing to make a stand. Is that what you wish, son?"

The young man was quiet for a moment before he spoke back, "Yes, I am."

Ghetsis smiled as he slowly began to place the crown on the young man's head. "Then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you Team Plasma's king, King N!" Ghetsis called out to the rest of the room. As he finished, he also finished placing the crown on the young man's head. "Long live the king!"

"Long live the king!" The six robed men cried out in response as two women in the back of the room slowly applauded supportively.

Ghetsis then addressed his son, "So N, shall I prepare our troops to begin putting an end to trainer's tyranny over Pokémon?"

N was silent, but only for a moment, as he give out his response, "Yes father."


	2. In the Shadow of Zekrom

_The Pokemon world. A world teeming with the most incredible creatures imaginable. Populating the land, the sea, and the air. Wherever you may find yourself, chances are Pokemon will be there to. And that includes the Kanto region's Pallet Town, home to Ash Ketchum. A Pokemon trainer that one day dreams of becoming a Pokemon Master. _

As Ash finished getting dressed in his bedroom, he took a brief moment to address his partner, Pikachu. "Psyched, huh?"

Pikachu responded with a happy cry.

"Me too. Taking a trip with mom. Can't remember the last time we did that." Ash responded with excitement.

Today was a special day. Today, Ash and his partner Pikachu were going to go with his mom and Professor Oak to the Unova region, a place that he had never been before. Even though Professor Oak was there for work, he still wanted to make use of his free time as a vacation from his work as well.

Ash and Pikachu were beyond excited to go out to a new region, especially since it had been some time since he had traveled to a new region that makes up the Pokemon world. Not only that, but they were likely to meet and battle with a variety of brand new Pokemon as well.

The two were interrupted from their excitement by a voice, "Ash?" Ash turned around to see that his mom was right outside his opened door. "Professor Oak is here to pick us up," his mom added.

"Great!" Ash responded. Pikachu also responded with a cry.

* * *

Ash, his mom, and Pikachu went outside to see Professor Oak pulled up by the road in his car wearing his vacation clothes. "Let's hit the road," the professor said.

Ash asked the professor, "Why are you dressed like that?"

"Oh this? I just wanted to get us into the vacationing mood. It has been years since I've visited the Unova region."

Ash's mom replied, "But you are going there for work, right."

"True, but the time in between conferences is my time. So in you go."

Ash asked his pal Pikachu, "You heard that, Pikachu?" with Pikachu responding with a happy cry.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Team Rocket Headquarters, Jessie, James, and Meowth were getting debriefed on an exclusive assignment from Giovanni, the boss of Team Rocket. Jessie and James were also wearing a black version of their signature outfits instead of their normal white uniforms. "So once again," the hologram of the boss questioned the trio, "What is Team Rockets' number one goal?"

"Sir, our goal is to collect powerful Pokemon." Jessie replied to the boss.

"Pokemon that are powerful and rare," James added on.

"And to use them to take over the world!" Meowth also added on.

"Very good." the Giovanni hologram also added on. "We are now in the process of assembling a most powerful swarm of Pokemon. An army that allows for complete control of the world. Take a look." At this, Giovanni replaced the hologram of himself with a hologram of the Unova region.

"What's this?" Jessie questioned.

"The Unova region." Giovanni replied. "A new stepping stone that will allow for us to come closer to completing our plans." At this, Giovanni replaced the hologram of the Unova region with the hologram of himself again. "I will be sending the three of you to the Unova region undercover. At first you three will be there alone."

"Yes sir!" the Team Rocket trio responded, making it clear that they were ready to begin their mission.

* * *

Giovanni sat down in his chair, his Persian approaching him and nuzzling up against him as he did so. Additionally, his female assistant had a message to give to him, "Sir, we have reports of an unidentified organization that is operating in the Unova region."

Giovanni simply responded with,"As soon as those three begin operations in the Unova region they are likely to reveal themselves. It is only a matter of time."

* * *

An airplane started to rise into the air, splashing against the ocean water as it did so. Ash and Pikachu looked out the window in amazement as the plane rose up into the air. Meanwhile, the Team Rocket trio, disguised in trenchcoats, boots, and fedoras, looked up to where Ash and Pikachu were a few aisles back. "Imagine running into the twerp at a time like this," Jessie said upon seeing Ash and Pikachu a few seats ahead of them.

"With the world's most powerful Pikachu. With him on our side, we can't lose!" Meowth added on.

"A win straight out of the box." James also added on. "Here's to success."

As Ash was reading a pamphlet detailing all that the Unova region had to offer, he couldn't help but note some of his excitement, "The Unova region. I bet that there are all sorts of Pokemon that I've never seen before."

"Of course!" Professor Oak confirmed. "The region is filled with Pokemon. Pokemon that you won't find in Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, or even Sinnoh. However, you also won't be finding very many non-Unova Pokemon in that many different places."

"Wow. That sounds incredible and interesting. I can't wait! I hope we get to Unova soon!" Ash responded excitedly. Pikachu echoed Ash's sentiments with a happy cry as the two of them looked out the window.

* * *

Everyone's plane ride to Unova took some time, but eventually the plane cruised into Unova, arriving at a port right next to the ocean.

"We're here Pikachu!" Ash cried out in excitement as Ash, Pikachu, Ash's mom, and Professor Oak stepped out of the plane and onto the cement ground in the ocean in Unova, Pikachu mirroring the sentiment as he cried out in joy.

As the group started to leave the port, Ash and Pikachu were stopped upon noticing a girl about their age chasing after a Snivy, trying to return the green snake to her Pokeball. "Get back here right now Snivy!" the girl yelled out in frustration.

Ash and Pikachu reacted with confusion upon noticing the commotion. "What do you think is going on, Pikachu?" Ash asked with curiosity.

The two approached the duo, with the girl continuing to attempt returning Snivy to her Pokeball. The girl cried out in frustration, "That's it! You are getting out of here right now! Snivy, return!" preparing to throw the Pokeball at her Pokemon. However, as the Pokeball was being thrown, Snivy's tail started to glow green. As the Pokeball reached Snivy, she jumped into the air and hit the Pokeball with her glowing tail that was forming a Leaf Blade, slicing it in half as she did so. At this, Snivy gave a small smile. Needless to say, the girl was shocked to see her former Pokemon destroy her Pokeball like she did. However, before she could react any further, the now wild Snivy jumped into the water, wanting to get away from her former trainer once and for all.

"Fine! Just go away! I wanted to release you anyway!" the girl cried out.

Ash and Pikachu, who were shocked by this whole situation, finally started to react. Ash approached the girl, with his curiosity peaked, and asked, "Hello the name's Ash. Mind telling me what that was all about?"

"The name's Melody," she started to explain, calming down, "and the Pokemon that you just saw used to be my Snivy. But she wouldn't listen to a word I said and she kept trying to run away from me. It just now finally got to the point that I gave up on the little brat. Serves her right!" Melody yelled out to spite the green snake.

Ash was far from pleased with this situation. While he could understand having trouble with a Pokemon, he couldn't accept giving up on a Pokemon like Melody just did. "You're giving up on your Pokemon like that?! Don't you want to give her a second chance?"

"Trust me. There was no salvaging our relationship. Maybe there is a trainer for my Snivy out there, but that trainer isn't me. Now, if you will excuse me, I'm going to look for a new Pokemon." At this, Melody left in search of a new Pokemon.

"Wow, that was harsh. Still, I hope that Snivy finds a better trainer soon enough. Let's go catch up with mom and Professor Oak, Pikachu.

As Pikachu started to walk forward with Ash he stopped cold, turning towards the ocean as he sensed a strange presence.

Ash took notice of his buddy's reaction turning in the same direction as Pikachu. "Hey, Pikachu!" Ash called out for his friend. Pikachu didn't turn back or respond, instead moving forward a bit. As Pikachu turned his head, he noticed a pool of ominous, pitch dark clouds hovering a ways off in the sky. "Pikachu, what's up? Did you find Snivy?" Ash questioned his friend. Before he could get a response, an Alomomola jumped out of the sea, taking up Ash's attention. "Never seen that Pokemon before!" Ash stated as he ran towards the Pokemon with childlike excitement with Pikachu following shortly behind him. Unbeknownst to the duo, the Team Rocket trio were right behind them. "That was cool! Wonder if there are more." Ash exclaimed. However, before he could wonder if there were any more new Pokemon, Pikachu got his attention and Ash got a glimpse of the dark clouds, now even closer than they were before, lightning coming out of the clouds as they grew more ominous by the second. "What's that?" Ash questioned. However, his answers would have to come later as before he could do anything else, Pikachu was suddenly snatched up in a prism shaped cage connected to a cable. Ash chased after the cage as it moved away, grabbing onto it as if his life depended on it as he saw the three trenchcoat wearing figures that were the Team Rocket trio standing on the wing of the plane. "Who are you guys?!" Ash exclaimed as he was curious as to what these figures were doing with his Pikachu.

"Who are you is the question indeed," the female figure responded.

"We'll answer you as we feel the need," the taller male figure added on. In a flash, the trio took off their disguises, revealing them to be none other than the Team Rocket trio.

"Team Rocket! What are you doing here?!" Ash yelled out in fury, not at all happy to see that his old enemies were up to their old tricks again.

"I'll ask you the same question," James responded.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu complied, zapping his cage. However, instead of damaging the cage at all, the electricity failed to do anything to the cage.

"A wasted effort." James responded.

"Haven't you realized that we run on anti-electric tech by now?" Jessie added on.

Meanwhile, the Snivy from earlier saw the situation, unhappy with the trio that had locked up the innocent Pikachu. However, before she or anyone else could react, the storm out in the distance suddenly approached the port. Before anyone could tell what was going on, a strong bolt of blue lightning rained down, nearly hitting Ash, Pikachu, and the Team Rocket trio in the process. However, while the group did avoid getting zapped, they were still close enough to get launched back quite a ways. Additionally, the port's many computers shut down in response to the strong bolt of lightning.

As Ash got up from his rough landing, he checked on Pikachu in concern, seeing that he had been heavily affected by the lightning, he was free from the cage, but his electricity was blue and crackling, with Pikachu being thoroughly drained as a result. As Pikachu got off of all fours, he looked up and noticed an enormous, pulsating blob of blue electricity in the sky. As Pikachu got up, he zapped the blob of electricity, only for nothing to happen to it.

What surprised Ash and Pikachu more than anything else was that there was a dark, dragon -like figure higher up in the sky, concealed by the many dark clouds, but still present and noticeable. "Is that a Pokemon?" Ash wondered.

Before he could wonder any further, another bolt of lightning was about to rain down on Pikachu. Thankfully, Ash noticed this and grabbed Pikachu protectively, much to the shock of the Snivy that was watching the whole thing. The bolt rained down, knocking the two back. At this however, the storm ended as quickly as it began, with no real evidence leftover to prove that anything had happened.


	3. In the Shadow of Zekrom Part 2

It took a few minutes for Ash to wake up after getting zapped, but when he did, he got up to see that that Pikachu was unconscious on the pavement. "Pikachu!" Ash called out in concern for his friend. He followed up by picking up Pikachu and cradled him in his arms. "Pikachu, are you okay?"

It took a moment, but Pikachu woke up and responded with a reassuring cry. "Pikachu! You're okay!"

"Ash!" A voice called out who appeared to belong to Ash's mother, filled with motherly concern for her child. "Are you okay?"

"Yes I am." Ash responded.

"But Ash, are you completely sure?" Professor Oak asked in concern for Ash's wellbeing. "You did just get zapped with a lot of electricity."

"Don't worry, guys. Pikachu and I are doing okay. In fact, we've been through way worse than that in the past, right Pikachu?"

At this, Pikachu responded with a happy cry. Suddenly, however, Pikachu's cheeks surged with electricity for a few seconds. "Pikachu, are you okay?" Ash asked in confused concern for his buddy. Pikachu responded with a reassuring cry, moving from Ash's arms to his shoulder while Ash, relieved that both of them were fine, laughed in joy.

"Well, if you say that you're okay, we'll believe you. I must say that was some storm, huh?" Ash's mom said.

"It sure was." Professor Oak responded.

"Who was that?" Ash asked out of curiosity.

"Who Ash?" Professor Oak asked in response.

"I'm pretty sure that I saw the shadow of some Pokemon in the shadow of that thundercloud." Ash explained to the Pokemon professor and to his mother.

"Are you sure? From our vantage point, all we could see was the cloud." Professor Oak admitted.

"Right." Ash's mom also admitted.

"Man, that was weird." Ash sighed. "What could it have been?"

Before Ash could continue the wonder about the large black dragon Pokemon, a voice suddenly spoke up, "Oh. Professor Oak."

Ash was shocked by the new voice that entered their conversation. However Professor Oak recognized her as Professor Juniper. "Oh, Professor Juniper."

"I'm sorry for being late," the younger professor said. "How are you getting on after that massive thunderstorm?"

"We're doing just fine," Professor Oak reassured the other professor as he walked up next to her. He then turned back to Ash, his mother, and Pikachu, "Everyone, I would like you to meet one of the youngest Pokemon researchers out there. Don't let her youthfulness fool you, she is a great Pokemon professor."

"A pleasure to meet you!" Professor Juniper greeted everyone.

* * *

As the happy group left for the topless jeep to drive over to Professor Juniper's lab, two people, a man and a woman in strange white outfits, were giving out pamphlets for their cause. As soon as they were finished with this, they turned around a corner and, after making sure that no one else was there, made a call to their superiors. "Seven Sages' Ghetsis," the male of the two responded, "we have completed handing out our pamphlets to the citizens that are entering the Unova region."

"Excellent. Keep up the good work." Ghetsis responded with an apathetic tone, not really concerned with a mission this small.

"Ghetsis, while there, we also hacked into the security camera feed and while we couldn't see everything, we feel that there is something interesting for you to see," the woman responded.

"Show me," Ghetsis responded.

As the two showed him the footage, Ghetsis' expression turned from one of apathy to one of smug happiness and curiosity. "Interesting findings you two. This footage will be of great use to our cause. Return to base where you will be assigned your next task."

"Yes, sir!" the duo responded loyally and dutifully.

As the call ended, Ghetsis petted his Hydreigon that was next to him. "So one of the legendary dragons showed up today. Not only that, but there appears to be another organization taking up camp in Unova." Ghetsis smirked a wicked smirk, "This will be interesting."

* * *

As Ash, Pikachu, Ash's mother, and the professors drove on to Professor Juniper's lab in Nuvema Town, Ash watched the Pokemon that passed by in amazement, from the grazing Deerling, to the sneaky Patrat, to the soaring Pidove.

"So, what do you think Ash?" Professor Juniper questioned Ash. "These Pokemon are new to you, correct?"

"Right." Ash responded. Suddenly, Pikachu's cheeks sparked up once again before stopping a few seconds later.

"Pikachu was sparking before too." Ash's mother responded to this action.

"Yeah."

"Once we get to my lab I'll have a look." Professor Juniper reassured.

"Thanks, that would be great." Ash replied gratefully.

"As you know, Kanto Pokemon are very rare in most of Unova." Professor Juniper said. She turned her attention towards Professor Oak. "I have a lot of questions for you, professor."

"Is Pikachu rare too?" Ash questioned the Professor.

"Yes. We've never seen one in the wild before."

Ash and Pikachu slowly went from confused expressions to ones of amazed happiness.

"You'll also see a lot of Pokemon that you've never seen before at Professor Juniper's lab." Professor Oak explained.

"You're bound to enjoy that." Professor Juniper assured.

As the jeep drove by a small lake, a flock of Swanna flew into the sky. "Pokemon I've never seen before," Ash muttered in amazement in regards to the fact that there were many new Pokemon to meet in the Unova region.

Unbeknownst to the group, the Snivy from back at the port was hanging onto the back of the jeep using her Vine Whip. Snivy was surprised earlier to see Ash protect his Pikachu from the bolt of lightning earlier. She had never seen her trainer or any other trainer be willing to protect their Pokemon so selflessly before. In her mind, humans were only selfish in regards to how they treated their Pokemon. Needless to say, Snivy was intrigued by this and decided to follow Ash, wanting to see if he may be a trainer worth going with or not.

* * *

Upon arriving at Professor Juniper's lab in Nuvema Town, Pikachu was placed in a small glass dome, with a lot of suction cup sensors attached to Pikachu.

"What do you think Professor?" Professor Oak asked Professor Juniper.

"According to Ash, Pikachu was enveloped in a powerful electric field." Professor Juniper explained. "Still, I see no signs of ill effects."

Ash was relieved to hear this news "Then that means Pikachu is fine. Do you hear that, Pikachu? You're doing great." Pikachu responded with a happy cry.

"Just stay here a little longer, Pikachu. I would like to run some tests."\

"Did you hear that, Pikachu. Just stay here a little longer." Pikachu was disappointed by this news, having wanted to be free to move about.

The group was interrupted by an assistant of Professor Juniper's entering the room. "Professor Juniper, there is a new trainer here ready to start his journey." the man said.

"Is it really that time, again?" Professor Juniper asked in surprise.

"A new trainer? Cool." Ash responded to the news of the new trainer.

"You see Ash," Professor Oak began to explain, "One of the many jobs that Professor Juniper has is to give brand new trainers in the Unova region their starter Pokemon."

"Wow, starter Pokemon? That sounds awesome!" Ash responded in excitement.

* * *

The new trainer was wearing a black shirt, orange jacket, grey pants, and sneakers. Not only that, but the boy was taking many photos of the room he was in with his camera.

"Hello, Trip. Welcome," Professor Juniper greeted the new trainer, with Ash and her assistant following, the latter pushing a cart that held three full Pokeballs, a Pokedex, and five empty Pokeballs.

"Hi Professor Juniper. I'm finally ready to set off on my journey as a Pokemon trainer." Trip responded in calm happiness.

"I know that you've been waiting a long time for this day. Welcome to the world of Pokemon." Professor Juniper replied.

Ash suddenly entered into the conversation, "So, hey… I bet you were so excited last night that you couldn't even sleep a wink! I was the same way." Ash awkwardly added on.

"Who are you?" Trip rudely asked Ash, wanting to know who this random person was.

"Trip, this is Ash. He came all this way from Pallet Town in the Kanto Region," Professor Juniper explained to Trip.

"Nice to meet you Trip!" Ash warmly greeted.

"Pallet Town? Kanto Region?" Trip muttered in confusion. However, said confusion was soon replaced by a mocking chuckle.

"Huh, what's so funny?" Ash questioned the new trainer.

"See, I was just thinking that a guy like you came from the boonies." Trip explained with mocking happiness.

"Hmm, Hey what do you mean boonies?!" Ash questioned in an angry tone. "My Pokemon and I have participated in many leagues."

"Have you won any leagues?" Trip butted in.

In response to this, Ash comically fell to the ground. "Uh… No?" Ash awkwardly responded.

"See, just like I thought. From the boonies and lacking skill through and through." Trip smugly responded.

Ash started to growl in anger, but before he could respond to Trip's comment, Professor Juniper interrupted, "Calm down, Trip. Today is your first day as a trainer, so it's a happy day." Professor Juniper then moved to the three full Pokeballs. "Now, you can pick a Pokemon of one of three types. The first up is Tepig, a fire type." As Professor Juniper said this, she threw the far right Pokeball into the sky, which released a Tepig, a black and red pig, from the Pokeball in a blue light.

"Tepig." The Tepig said in joy.

"Wow, so you're a Tepig!" Ash said in excitement. The Tepig then ran to another part of the room, and blew its nose, with fiery embers ejecting from the Tepig's snout. "Yep, that's a fire type all right.

"Next up is Oshawott, a water type," Professor Juniper continued, throwing the middle Pokeball into the sky. From it, exited an Oshawott, a blue and white sea otter, who exited with a cute face.

"Oshawott," the Oshawatt said cutely.

"Aww, aren't you the cutest?" Ash said in amusement.

The Oshawott was left confused, but he ultimately responded with an embarrassed, yet happy, shrug, "Oshawott."

"Finally, Snivy, a grass type," The Professor finished, throwing the remaining Pokeball into the sky. From it, a green snake with arms and legs exited the Pokeball in a blue light.

"Snivy!" The third Pokemon said upon getting out of his Pokeball.

"Hey, it's another Snivy!" Professor Juniper reacted in confusion only for Ash to explain, "I saw one back at the port. Still, I guess one good things that Snivys have is plenty of confidence." The three Pokemon arranged themselves from left to right in front of Trip. "Man, all three of them would be good to train. Deciding has got to be tough."

"Don't forget, I'm the one who gets to pick one." Trip rudely responded.

"I know that. Still, if it were up to me, well, that's a tough one." Ash said as his eyes scanned the three Pokemon from left to right.

Suddenly, Trip pulled out his camera, taking a picture of all three of the starter Pokemon. "I've decided. I'm choosing Snivy." Trip decided. Meanwhile, each of the three starters reacted to said decision. Snivy smiled smugly, the Tepig went from happy to bitter, and Oshawott was comically frozen white, falling onto his side in the process.

"Okay, first of all, here is your Pokedex." Professor Juniper responded as she gave Trip the Pokedex from the cart.

"Thanks Professor," Trip gratefully responded.

Trip proceeded to scan his new Snivy with the Pokedex, "_**Snivy, the Grass Snake Pokémon. Cool, calm, and collected, Snivy uses photosynthesis to collect energy with the leaf on its tail."**_ Ash was excited to hear the Pokedex entry of the grass snake. Upon noticing Ash's excitement, however, Trip proceeded to close and put away his Pokedex, much to Ash's disappointment.

"Here are your Pokeballs." Professor Juniper explained to Trip while holding out an open box containing five Pokeballs. "You can carry around up to six Pokemon at a time with these."

Trip accepted the Pokeballs, stating with a lack of interest and excitement, "Yeah, that's basic."

"And this is Snivy's Pokeball. Take good care of it."

"Right." Trip stated as he pressed the round button on the Pokeball, changing it to its full size. "Now, Snivy, let's get this journey started." Trip then proceeded to return Snivy to his Pokeball.

"Take care." Professor Juniper warmly said her goodbye.

"Thanks. Thanks for everything!" Trip thanked the Professor for giving him a start on his own journey to be a master.

* * *

Ash was running out of Professor Juniper's lab, trying to follow after Trip. Upon noticing him, Ash ran up to him, "Trip, Trip wait up!" Trip stopped and turned toward Ash as he approached. "Going for gym battles?" Ash asked out of curiosity.

Trip responded, "That's basic. Trainers go all across the Unova region to collect eight badges so they can enter the Unova league."

"Really? That's just like back in Kanto!"

Before Ash could continue, Ash heard a cry from Pikachu, who had finished his tests and was free to go. Pikachu ran out of the lab and up to Ash, getting onto Ash's shoulder in one swift motion. "Pikachu! Done with your tests, huh?" Pikachu responded with a happy cry.

Trip, however, was confused upon seeing Pikachu, getting out his Pokedex and scanning Pikachu, "_**Pikachu, the Mouse Pokémon, and the evolved form of **__**Pichu**__**. Pikachu's tail is sometimes struck by lightning as it raises it to check its surroundings." **_Following this, Trip began to take photos of Pikachu, moving around as to get photos from different angles.

"What are you doing?" Ash asked out of curiosity.

"You see, this is why we don't like people from the boonies." Trip rudely responded, "Listen up, a Pikachu in Unova is huge and a very big deal."

"You got it all wrong." Ash responded to Trip's claims. "You see, Pikachu is my number one partner and buddy." Pikachu responded with a cry to confirm this statement.

"Really." Trip responded. Suddenly, he got an idea, "Is it strong?"

"Sure is. Strong enough to tie with a Latios. Want to see?"

Trip didn't quite believe the claims that this Ash character was making. To him, they were all a bunch of claims with no real evidence to back them up. However, this was still a possible battle for Trip to win and see where he stood on his Pokemon journey. So that is why he decided to battle against Ash, "Sure I do."


	4. In the Shadow of Zekrom Part 3

Ash and Trip were ready to battle, having decided to have their battle outside of Professor Juniper's lab.

"Snivy, go get them now!" Trip called out as he threw Snivy's Pokeball, his Pokemon coming out in a flash of blue light.

"Nice, I'll go with Pikachu." Ash decided, with Pikachu giving a cy of agreement. Suddenly, Trip took out his camera and began taking pictures of, not only Snivy, but of Ash and Pikachu as well. "What are you doing?" Ash asked out of curiosity.

"Recording my journey," Trip responded. "Remember, this is Snivy's first battle.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the two trainers, the Oshawott from earlier was watching the battle closely from behind one of the trees. Oshawott was starting to take a liking to Ash, especially because of his compliment from earlier. For this reason, Oshawott was curious about Ash and wanted to see if he was a trainer worthy of him going with.

"Yeah, well this is our first battle in the Unova region, so we will be going first." Ash called out to Trip.

"Go right ahead." Trip responded, not really caring either way.

"Right. Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Ash called out. Pikachu responded by speedily tackling into Snivy, catching the grass snake off guard. Snivy got knocked into the air by Pikachu without having a chance to realize what had happened. Snivy, however, in spite of being damaged, wasn't ready to give up yet and landed on his two feet back onto the ground.

"Alright then. Snivy, use Tackle!" Trip called out to his new Pokemon. Snivy obeyed, rushing at Pikachu.

"Pikachu, dodge it!" Fortunately, for Pikachu, he was able to dodge the Tackle attack without much difficulty. Snivy continued trying to Tackle into Pikachu, only for Pikachu to dodge every attempt.

Meanwhile, Oshawott wasn't the only Pokemon watching the battle as, up in the trees, the Snivy from back at the port was also watching the battle between Trip's Snivy and Pikachu. So far, Snivy was impressed with how Ash and Pikachu were doing. Not only were they fighting well together, but they were winning to boot. At this rate, Snivy may end up deciding to follow Ash as a part of his team. However, the time for that would come later, as right now Snivy turned her attention back to the battle.

"Alright, Pikachu use Thunderbolt!" Ash called out to Pikachu. Pikachu prepared to zap the Snivy with electricity. However, the bolt of lightning would not come. Instead, Pikachu got Tackled into by Snivy, knocking Pikachu off of his feet.

"Um, are you two okay? " Trip asked in confusion over what had just happened.

Meanwhile, Pikachu got back onto his feet, panting heavily as he did so. Ash was left confused about what had happened to Pikachu. Normally, his attacks would work well, even defeating his opponents without much effort. "Pikachu, are you okay?" Ash asked in concern for his partner. Pikachu gave out a cry to confirm that he was alright. "Okay. Good, now use Volt Tackle!" Pikachu complied, rushing toward Trip's Snivy. However, just like with Thunderbolt, the attack failed, leaving Pikachu to pant harder than he was previously.

"So, is this some kind of strategy? Calling out moves that you cannot use?" Trip questioned, chuckling in amusement at the idea of facing such a novice opponent.

"_What's wrong with Pikachu?" _Ash thought to himself. " _He was doing just fine earlier. Now it appears that his electric type moves are failing. Wait, electric type moves …" _Ash suddenly had an idea. "Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" Pikachu complied, this time the move working as Pikachu's tail glowed white, hitting Snivy in the face. "Oh, so it is just electric type moves that don't work. Pikachu, finish this up with one more Iron Tail!"

However, before the move could hit, Trip called out to Snivy to dodge the move, leaving Piukachu to hit the dirt with his glowing tail rather than the green snake. "Now Snivy, use Leaf Tornado!" Trip's Snivy obeyed, forming a green tornado out of leaves from his tail.

"Leaf Tornado?" Ash questioned. "Never heard of that move before."

"Seriously, knowing about a move like that should be basic stuff." Trip gloated.

"Pikachu, dodge it!" Pikachu complied to the best of his ability, being able to avoid the tornado before it could hit him at the cost of losing more energy, panting like he had run a marathon.

"Snivy, let's wrap this up with another Leaf Tornado!"

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!"

Both Pokemon started to form their moves at the same time, with Snivy forming a tornado out of leaves and Pikachu preparing to strike with his glowing tail. Pikachu was able to get in close before the tornado could reach him and hit Snivy in the face yet again. However, the Leaf Tornado also managed to hit Pikachu, creating a field of dust around both Pokemon. When the dust settled, both Snivy and Pikachu were out cold on the ground, with Pikachu panting heavily as he struggled to get up.

"Pikachu, are you okay?" Ash called out in concern, running towards his buddy and picking him up. Pikachu, however, was having trouble getting up, barely being able to open his eyes.

"So, a tie it is then." Trip called out as he approached his Snivy, "I thought we did pretty well for our first battle. I'm glad I chose you. Now, get a good rest." At this, Trip returned Snivy to his Pokeball. He then turned his attention over to Ash and Pikachu. "You two might want to start over with the basics. If you two can't even win against a new trainer, I would say that you two are really out of your depth."

Ash didn't respond as he was concerned for the health of his Pikachu. Wanting to find out what the problem was straight away, he hurried right back into Professor Juniper's lab.

* * *

"So it turns out that there is something wrong with Pikachu after all. He couldn't use any electric type moves at all. Not only that, but he got exhausted pretty quickly," Ash explained as Pikachu, who was connected to the suction cup cords again, was being scanned for problems once again.

"Judging from what you've described and what data we have obtained it would appear that Pikachu has suffered from an electrical overload." Professor Juniper explained.

"Electrical overload?"

"Right, from the cloud we saw earlier, it would appear that Pikachu has been pumped full of electricity."

"The overcharge of electricity appears to have left Pikachu unable to use any of his electric type moves," Professor Oak continued.

"Wait, does this mean that Pikachu won't be able to use electric type moves anymore?" Ash asked in concern for his buddy.

However, before anyone could respond, the thundercloud from earlier returned into the sky above Nuvema Town. As a result of the large amount of electricity emanating from the cloud, the power in Professor Juniper's lab went out once it was hit with a thunderbolt. Not only that, but Pikachu appeared to be suffering as well.

"Reboot the system, quickly!" Professor Juniper called out for her assistant to do.

"On it!" the assistant complied, pulling open the electric door that was currently inactive. Unbeknownst to everyone else, Oshawott was watching what was going on from the now open door. In addition, the wild Snivy, who was concerned for Pikachu after the battle from earlier, was also watching from the window outside.

Professor Juniper looked outside the window, noticing that the thunderstorm was getting more and more intense by the second. "Those clouds. Could it be Zekrom?"

"Zekrom?" Ash asked the professor.

"Zekrom is a legendary and powerful dragon from around these parts. Many believe it to be connected to Unova's creation. Not only that, but it is believed to rain down judgement on others using its powerful electric attacks, with its powers being pillars that hold up the skies."

Suddenly, Pikachu got zapped by the electricity, creating a massive surge of power surrounding him.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried out in concern.

Both of the professors tried to access the computer, only for them to come up with nothing. "All systems are down." Professor Juniper admitted. "The entire system in here is about to be destroyed."

"All because of that lightning?" Professor Oak asked in great curiosity as he looked out the window. "Could Zekrom, an legendary electric Pokemon from the Unova region, be behind all this?" Professor Oak wondered.

As Zekrom rose back into the sky, Pikachu cried out in agony as he expelled more electricity. "Pikachu, hang in there!" Ash cried out, grabbing Pikachu protectively only to be electrocuted himself. However, as suddenly as the thunderstorm appeared, it disappeared once again.

Ash and Pikachu both fell to the ground, with Ash's mother hopeful that her son was okay. Meanwhile, all of the computer systems in the room reactivated. "We're back online?" Professor Juniper wondered.

"Ash, dear, are you okay?" Ash's mother wondered in deep worry, with Oshawott entering the room, echoing the same sentiments as the worried mother.

"I'm fine. I've been zapped by electricity so many times that my insides are made of rubber at this point." Ash reassured everyone. "If anything, we should be worried about Pikachu. Wait, Pikachu! Are you okay?" Ash asked out of worry, wanting to make sure that his buddy was okay.

Pikachu, meanwhile, had just started to sit up, the last of the excess energy leaving his system. Realizing this, Pikachu got up in joy, a surge of electricity forming around his tail.

"Pikachu! Are you back to normal? Use Thunderbolt on me." Pikachu complied, testing out the move on his trainer. Ash proceeded to get zapped by the strong electric attack. "Okay, now use Volt Tackle." Pikachu, once again, complied, dashing into Ash while a field of electricity surrounded him. "Pikachu, it's great to have you back" Ash responded, his speech slurred as he was currently in a daze by the strong attacks.

* * *

As the sun was setting outside, Professor Juniper and Oak were discussing the events from earlier. "Do you really think that storm was Zekrom's doing?" Professor Juniper questioned the older professor.

"I'm not sure. This requires further research," Professor Oak responded, not really knowing the answer to that question. The two went back inside shortly after.

As the two professors decided to go back inside, Ash and Pikchu went outside, looking at the sunset in awe. "There sure are a lot of Pokemon exclusive to the Unova region, huh buddy?" Pikachu gave an affirming cry. "So many Pokemon, and I don't know a thing about them."

Before Ash could continue, his thoughts were interrupted by the cry of a familiar grass snake. "Snivy!"

"Huh?" Ash and Pikachu looked down to see a Snivy right at Ash's feet. "What are you doing here? Wait… Are you the same Snivy from back at the port?"

"Snivy." The Snivy confirmed with a nod.

"Well, what do you want?"

The Snivy suddenly lashed out with a Vine Whip. Thankfully, Ash was able to dodge it just in time.

"A battle? Wait… Do you want to come with us?" Ash questioned the grass snake.

"Snivy." The Snivy nodded again, confirming his suspicions.

"Okay, you got yourself a deal! Pikachu, let's go!

Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulders, ready to battle the grass snake.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Pikachu complied, a large bolt of lightning emanating from Pikachu, zapping the grass snake and leaving her dazed. "Okay, now use Quick Attack." Pikachu dashed towards Snivy in a quick blur. However, before the attack could hit, Snivy suddenly dodged, responding with a Vine Whip to the face. Pikachu got knocked back towards Ash, but was quick to recover. "Alright, Pikachu use Iron Tail!" Pikachu's tail started to glow, but before the attack could hit, Snivy countered with a Leaf Blade, leaving both attacks to clash into each other.

Both Pokemon got pushed back in response to this clash. "Man, Snivy is one tough cookie." Pikachu let out a cry, agreeing with this sentiment. "Pikachu, use Volt Tackle!" However, before Pikachu could attack, the grass snake suddenly winked, a flurry of pink hearts emanating from Snivy and surrounding Pikachu, an Attract. Next thing Ash knew, Pikachu was dazed with hearts in his eyes, completely vulnerable to attack.

Snivy smiled, and then followed up with two consecutive Leaf Blades on the electric mouse. "Pikachu, are you okay?!" Ash called out. However, Pikachu was trapped in a lovestruck daze, unable to move.

"Snivy." The Snivy then formed a massive Leaf Storm, planning to end the battle in one move.

"Pikachu, snap out of it, please!" At this, Pikachu finally snapped out of the Attract. "Good, now Pikachu, use Volt Tackle!" Pikachu complied, dodging the Leaf Storm as he rushed into Snivy while surrounded with an electric field. Snivy fell to the ground, dazed as a result of the attack, while Pikachu suffered from recoil damage as a result of the attack. "Okay, Pokeball, go!" Ash called out as he threw a Pokeball at the weakened Snivy. Before entering the Pokeball, however, Snivy gave a small smile. Snivy entered the Pokeball, and after shaking a few times, the Pokeball went still.

"All right. We caught a Snivy!" Ash called out in excitement as he made a pose and held up his hand with both his middle and index fingers poking out, Pikachu posing with Ash."Can you believe it Pikachu? Our first Unova Pokemon." At this Ash, suddenly had an idea.


	5. Enter Iris and Axew!

Later that night at dinner, Ash decided to reveal his plans, "So I've decided that my next journey will be right here in the Unova region." This news came as a bit of a shock to Ash's mother and Professor Oak. Before they could give their two cents, however, Ash decided to continue, "You see, I want to be able to meet all of the Unova Pokemon and make a lot of new friends like I did with Snivy." Pikachu gave a cry in agreement while Snivy gave an apathetic shrug, continuing to eat delicately as her trainer finished explaining his plans.

"Of course you would." Ash's mother said, much to Ash's confusion. "It makes sense. No one knows you better than me."

"I take it you will be visiting all of the Pokemon gyms?" Professor Oak questioned the young trainer.

"That's the plan. I'm going to meet and beat the gym leaders, collect eight badges, and win the Unova League." Ash explained with full confidence.

"Well then. In the meantime, I will continue looking over your Pokemon back at my lab. Don't worry about a thing."

"Pikachu, Snivy, take good care of Ash for me." Ash's mother said. Pikachu and Snivy both gave nods in agreement.

"Make sure to call us from time to time. I look forward to seeing all of the new Pokemon you meet in the Unova region."

"You got it," Ash stated to the old professor and his mother, Pikachu giving a cry in agreement while Snivy nodded.

* * *

"Here are your Pokeballs and your Unova region Pokedex," Professor Juniper said, handing out both of the listed objects.

"Thanks Professor," Ash accepted both the Pokeballs and the Pokedex.

"The nearest gym to here is the Striaton Gym in Striaton City. So, when considering your options, I would say that the best option would be for you to challenge that gym first."

"Thanks, I'll do just that."

"You know, you might just bump into Trip. He did leave ahead of you." The Professor teased with a wink.

Ash gasped, surprised to see that Trip was already getting a head start on collecting eight gym badges. "Next time we battle, I'll win for sure. Right Pikachu?" Pikachu gave an affirmative cry.

* * *

As the morning sun rose, Ash's mother and the two Pokemon professors were there to see Ash off on his journey. "Where's your handkerchief? Are your clothes packed? Do you have clean underwear?" Ash's mother continuously pestered her son, worried about him and wanting to make sure he was ready for his journey.

"Don't worry, mom. I'm not a little kid." Ash awkwardly responded.

"There is a Pokemon Center at the other side of this forest. Go there if you need help." Professor Juniper said warmly and supportively.

"Right, thanks. See you later!" Ash said goodbye, running off on his new journey in this brand new region.

"Goodbye Ash. Be safe!" Ash's mother yelled out to Ash.

"Take care, and have fun!" Professor Oak also called out just as Ash went away from visible view. "Well, there he goes."

"Right. I wonder how much Ash will have grown the next time I see him."

As the mother and professor were left wondering this, Oshawott was hiding behind the exit gate pillar, wondering what will become of Ash.

* * *

As Ash and Pikachu were running down the road, Ash was left in excitement in what his next new Pokemon in the Unova region would be. "Maybe I'll meet a bug type Pokemon. Or another grass type, or maybe a water type." Before Ash could continue, he halted his progress upon hearing a noise. Pikachu pointed to a bush on the side of the road, with a large amount of purple popping out above the bush. "Awesome, is that a Pokemon?!"

Ash took out his Pokedex and scanned the supposed Pokemon, "_**Axew, the Tusk Pokémon. Axew marks its territory by making scratch marks on trees with its tusks, which regrow if they fall out."**_

"That doesn't look like the Pokemon from the Pokedex entry." Ash muttered to himself. "Still, it could just be hiding in the bush." Ash got out a Pokeball. "Let's test it. Pokeball, go!" Ash threw out his Pokeball at the purple mass.

"Ouch!" the mass called out in response to being hit by the Pokeball.

"Ouch?!" Ash called out in dread and confusion.

The mass rose and turned around, revealing itself to be a person, more accurately a dark skinned girl with large, purple hair and holding a berry. She was wearing a beige shirt with a pink collar and pink tipped sleeves. She was also wearing white pants and croc shoes. "Okay what was that for?!" The girl called out in rage, not happy to have been bopped on the head.

"Um, you see… I was just trying to catch a Pokemon." Ash awkwardly responded.

"So what you're really saying is that I look like a Pokemon?" the girl responded in suppressed rage, "Your Pokedex, tell me, is this cute face in there? Tell me, is it?!" She suddenly shrieked out.

"No, uh… sorry?" Ash asked in fear of this girl.

"Fine. I accept your apology. But still, you have a long way to go as a trainer if you make a mistake like that. Right, Axew?" The girl lifted the berry in her hand up to her hair. As she did so, the Axew from the Pokedex entry popped out of her hair and took a bite out of the berry.

"Oh, so that is where it was," Ash said in surprise.

The Axew jumped out of the girl's hair and onto the ground. As Pikachu walked forward to get a better look at the Axew, the girl finally took notice of Pikachu. "Whoa, no way. Pikachu?!" the girl said in surprise, picking up Pikachu tightly in her arms, rubbing his face against hers. "You have got to be the sweetest thing ever. So cute! And these cheeks," The girl proceeded to flick Pikachu's red cheeks. "You can't find anything this jiggly in Unova! I for one am wondering what a

Pikachu is doing here in Unova." the girl retightened her grip on Pikachu and continuing to rub his face against hers, "So come on. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me."

Ash was left confused by the girl's behavior in regards to Pikachu. However, he snapped out of his confusion upon being asked this question. "We're from Pallet Town in the Kanto region."

"Pallet Town?"

"Hi, I'm Ash and I want to enter the Unova League."

"Isn't that nice? Nice to meet you, I'm Iris." At this point, Pikachu could no longer tolerate Iris' squeezing any more. In fact, he was quickly starting to run out of air. It was for this reason that Pikachu decided to zap Iris with his Thunderbolt. "So tingling." Iris fell to the ground, finally releasing her grip on Pikachu.

Ash proceeded to chuckle awkwardly in response to Pikachu's Thunderbolt.

* * *

Ash, Iris, and Pikachu were sitting on the ground, Pikachu still being irritated from Iris' prior snuggling. "Sorry about that." Iris apologized. "Say, wasn't there a thunderstorm in Nuvema Town yesterday?"

"Yes there was," Ash confirmed. "Professor Juniper said that the lightning was caused by Zekrom."

Iris suddenly leaned forward, getting close into Ash's face, "Zekrom, the legendary Pokemon caused it?! Please tell me more. I want to know everything."

Before Ash could respond, Pikachu suddenly noticed something. Everyone looked to the right only to see a skipping Deerling. Ash proceeded and stand up and Pikachu got up onto Ash's shoulder. "One of the Pokemon from yesterday." Ash proceeded to run after the Deerling.

Iris, meanwhile, ran after Ash, still wanting to know what happened with Zekrom. "Wait, Ash!"

* * *

Meanwhile, inside of a dark cave, Team Rocket is making contact with Giovanni through a computer screen in a briefcase. "So I see that you three have made it into the Unova region." their boss said coolly.

"Yes, sir!" the three of them responded, kneeling down on one knee.

"We've succeeded in infiltrating the Unova region." James continued.

"We will continue your plan to completely take over the Unova region." Meowth added on.

"And we will capture Pikachu and the legendary Pokemon and bring them to you." Jessie also added on.

"What?" Giovanni said in confusion. "Did you say legendary Pokemon?"

"Yes, we did. But in order to do that we will need all of our Pokemon to be sent from headquarters." James asked of their boss.

"I'm afraid that won't happen," a female voice interrupted.

"Huh?" the Team Rocket trio were confused.

The voice, which had come from Giovanni's assistant continued, "If you use Pokemon from a different region you will attract too much attention to yourselves. Non-Unova Pokemon are rare in much of Unova. So, in order to safeguard our organization's secrecy in Unova, you must catch and use Pokemon native to the Unova region."

"Understood."

"_Uh oh._" Meowth thought to himself. "_Where does that leave me?_"

"I have every confidence that you won't let me down." the Team Rocket boss concluded, the screen powering down immediately afterward.

"Can you believe it, Jessie? No Mime Jr. or Carnivine to help us." James glumly said.

"Or Seviper, Yanmega, or Wobbuffet." Jessie added on.

"Maybe not Wobbuffet." Meowth sarcastically dug in.

However, the disappointment of the trio was quickly replaced with newfound glee and confidence.

"Did you hear that? He has confidence that we won't let him down." James said in glee.

"With that vote of confidence, there is no way we can disappoint him." Meowth added on in smug confidence.

"You heard that. Now. let's get to it." Jessie concluded.

"Right!" the Team Rocket trio cried out, all in agreement that they needed to work harder for the sake of their boss.

* * *

The female assistant of Giovanni's placed down a mug of hot tea for her boss. "So, do you really think that those three will be successful?" the assistant asked out of curiosity.

"Who knows? At the very least the three of theirs presence in the Unova region should still surface that secret organization in the Unova region." the Team Rocket boss smugly smiled as he took a sip of his tea.

* * *

"Look at all the stuff that the boss sent for us for our mission." Meowth said as they looked over all of their tech.

"The boss went all out for our mission starter kit." James stated in awe as he looked over all of the tech. "He even supplied us with Pokeballs."

"Great!" Jessie said as she picked up a Pokeball. "Now we can catch new Pokemon."

The trio were immediately confused as they heard a noise. As it turns out, it was from a swarm of Woobat that were flying toward the trio.


	6. Enter Iris and Axew! Part 2

Multiple Deerling were grazing in a field, with one of them peacefully drinking water in a nearby pond. Unbeknownst to the Deerling, Ash, Iris, and Pikachu were watching the peaceful Pokemon from behind a tree. Ash proceeded to get out his Pokedex in order to look up new information on this new species of Pokemon.

"_**Deerling, the Season Pokémon. With the change of each season, Deerling's appearance changes as well."**_

"Wow, so those are Deerling. Sounds like an awesome second Pokemon." Ash cried out in excitement, grabbing Snivy's Pokeball. "Snivy, I choose you!" Snivy get sent out of her Pokeball in a flash of blue light. "Snivy, use Vine Whip on one of those Deerling." Snivy complied, sending out a Vine Whip attack at the nearest Deerling. However, instead of dealing damage to the Season Pokemon, it instead created a green energy field around the Deerling for a few seconds.

"Wow, you act like a little kid. See, Deerling can have the ability Sap Sipper, which nullifies all damage dealt by grass type moves and strengthens the one hit. Anyone not new to this region should know that." Iris explained.

Ash got fairly annoyed by this insult, wanting to prove Iris wrong. "Well, I am new. But that doesn't matter because I am going to catch that Pokemon. Come on Pikachu!" Pikachu proceeded to jump out of Iris' arms and followed Ash into the field where the Deerling were relaxing. However, before the two could battle one of the Deerling, one of them sensed the presence of Ash and Pikachu and warned the other Deerling. All of the Deerling proceeded to run away from the duo. "Hey, wait up! I want to battle."

Before he could try and chase one of the Deerling, Ash and Pikachu were approached by a swarm of Patrat running past them. The swarm's running caused Ash to spin about in confusion. The Pokemon and trainer stood as still as they could, left dizzy as a result of the swarm of Pokemon. "Okay, I give up. What was that Pokemon anyway?" Ash asked as he and Pikachu fell to the ground.

"It was a Patrat." Iris answered. "Man, you are a little kid," Axew responded with a cry from Iris' hair, Snivy doing the same with a shrug.

* * *

As the sun set later that day, Ash and company started to get hungry after the long day. It was for this reason that Ash plucked an apple from a tree, "I wonder if I can eat this," Ash wondered. Pikachu and Snivy both responded with a cry, wanting to believe it was fine to eat from an apple from this tree as well. However, before they could continue, a large amount of apples suddenly fell from the tree and right onto Ash and Pikachu. Snivy was able to dodge the apples and looked over to her trainer while shaking her head with a facepalm.

Suddenly, Iris jumped out of the tree, "Come and get it. Dinner." Iris announced before realizing that Ash wasn't in visible view. "Huh? Where did Ash go?"

Snivy responded by pointing out to Iris where Ash was, under the pile of apples. "Right here."

"Oops, sorry about that."

* * *

As the moon took place of the sun in the sky, everyone was enjoying all of their apples, including Axew, who was eating his apple on a tree branch in front of his trainer. During this time, Ash finally explained to Iris about his encounter with Zekrom. "I see." Iris took note of the story, "So Pikachu had a rough day because of an encounter with Zekrom."

"Right," Ash confirmed. "Normally, Pikachu is a very powerful Pokemon. In fact, not too long ago he tied with a Latios in battle. However, because of Zekrom, Pikachu got supercharged to the point where he couldn't use his electric type moves for a while. At least, that is what the Professor said. She also said it may take some time for him to regain his full power."

"Really? Well, anyway, Zekrom is a legendary Pokemon you know," Iris began in excitement. Iris stood up before she continued, "I would love to meet Zekrom one day. I can't wait to meet Zekrom!" Axew cried out in agreement, standing just like his trainer.

As Ash looked down at the apple in his hand, he stated, "Unova has a lot of cool Pokemon, not just Zekrom. I want to meet them all." Noticing the lack of a response from Iris, Ash decided to check if Iris was listening, "Iris?" Upon looking up, he noticed that Iris and Axew were asleep, with Iris holding Axew close to her chest. Not only that, but Snivy had also fallen asleep as well. Ash and Pikachu were a bit awkward upon noticing this, but soon changed gears and looked up at Unova's night sky. "Man, look at that Unova sky, Pikachu. For the rest of this journey we will be going under this sky."

Suddenly, a shooting star flew across the starry sky. Pikachu cried out in happiness upon noticing the star, with Ash also being excited, "A shooting star!" Ash stood up to talk to Pikachu at this, "You know what this means, right? It's a sign of good luck." Ash and Pikachu proceeded to laugh happily in response to this. Unbeknownst to the two of them, Oshawott was watching them curiously from inside of a nearby bush.

* * *

The next morning, Ash and Pikachu were walking down a dirt path. Earlier in the morning, Iris ended up leaving before the two of them could wake up. While the duo were curious as to where Iris and Axew went off to, they were more curious as to what to do next. After all, it was a brand new day and the chances of meeting, and even catching, new Pokemon was great. As they walked, the duo suddenly stopped upon hearing a noise up above, which belonged to a Pidove. "Whoa, what is that?" Ash asked out of curiosity.

Ash turned on his Pokedex in order to find out the Pokemon's identity, "_**Pidove, the Tiny Pigeon Pokémon. A Pidove flock's cooing can get extremely noisy. Pidove is not attracted to shiny objects**_."

"Cool. A Pidove. Lets go catch it, Pikachu." Ash and Pikachu proceeded to run after the tiny pigeon only to find a whole flock of them relaxing in a field. "Let's catch that one." Ash said, pointing to the nearest Pidove. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt, now!" Pikachu complied, zapping the nearby Pidove into unconsciousness, something that the rest of the Pidove took notice of. "Okay, now go Pokeba-" Ash was suddenly interrupted as the whole flock of Pidove flew up to Ash and Pikachu, attacking the duo with Air Cutter and Quick Attack. During this time, the unconscious Pidove got back up and flew away, along with the rest of the flock.

Ash and Pikachu were panting heavily after the sudden attacks. "Are you okay, Pikachu?" Ash asked his buddy. Pikachu confirmed this with a cry. "Well, I guess catching a Pokemon is never easy. But, that also means that we're not giving up, either." Pikachu gave a cry in agreement. At this, the two noticed that there was one remaining Pidove that was pecking at the ground. "All right, there is one more left. Ready, Pikachu?" Pikachu gave out a determined cry in response. "Okay then, Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Pikachu complied, dashing right into the Pidove. The Pidove skidded across the grass, taking quite a bit of damage from the attack. However, she was also able to get back up, brushing off the attack and ready to continue battling. "Okay, now use Iron Tail!" Pikachu's tail glowed white, hitting the Pidove hard as she reeled from the hit. "Now, Pokeball, go!" Ash threw a Pokeball at the weakened Pidove. The Pokeball shook a few times before the tiny pigeon Pokemon broke free from the Pokeball.

"Aw man, and I almost had it too," Ash cried out in disappointment. Suddenly, Pidove attacked with a Gust, which caused Pikachu to struggle against the wind, "Pikachu, that's Gust. Be careful." The Pidove then proceeded to dash into Pikachu with a Quick Attack. "That was Quick Attack." The Pidove then created a blue X-shaped energy strike that hit Pikachu hard. "That's Air Cutter. Be careful Pikachu." The Pidove proceeded to rush at Pikachu with another Quick Attack. "Pikachu, dodge it!" Pikachu, while weakened from the barrage of attacks, was still able to comply, resulting in Pidove crashing into a tree and falling onto the ground.

"Now Pikachu, use Thunderbolt." Pikachu blasted out a strong volt of electricity at the Pokemon, knocking out the tiny pigeon Pokemon before she could fly off. "Let's try this again. Go, Pokeball!" Ash threw a Pokeball at the Pidove again, the Pokeball shaking a few times. However, this time, the Pokeball stopped shaking, securing the capture of the tiny pigeon Pokemon.

Ash's face went from stern to happy in seconds as he picked up his Pokeball. "All right, I caught my second Unova region Pokemon. I caught a Pidove!" Pikachu jumped up in excitement as well, landing on Ash's shoulder as he did so. Ash proceeded to spin around with Pikachu in his arms, "We did it! We did it!" However, the duo were interrupted by the sudden appearance of Iris, who had returned to the group.

"You're that excited over catching a little Pidove? What a kid!" Iris exclaimed as she gave the apple in her hand to Axew, who proceeded to jump down to the ground where Pikachu was, sharing half of an apple with him.

"It's not just that. Pidove is a brand new friend, and my second Unova Pokemon at that."

Iris, while a bit confused, decided to be fair to Ash, "Well, in that case, maybe you two are a perfect match after all." At this, Pikachu and Axew were suddenly grabbed by a pair of rubber robotic hands and were pulled away to a briefcase. Said briefcase being owned by Team Rocket.

"You guys again?!" Ash furiously asked upon seeing the trio.

"Again is the question, so twerpish indeed," Jessie began.

"The answer to come as we feel the need," James continued.

"Bringing the white light of evil descending into the future."

"Thrusting the black hammer into the darkness of the future."

"And carving our names into the rock of eternity," Meowth continued.

"The fiery destroyer, Jessie," Jessie introduced herself.

"And with thunderous emotion, I am James," James introduced.

"Wisest of the wise, Meowth," Meowth introduced.

"Now gather under the light of Team Rocket!" All three of them said at once.


	7. Enter Iris and Axew! Part 3

"Team Rocket?! Who are you, and what are you going to do with our Pokemon?" Iris called out to the Team Rocket trio. "Also, why do you guys have a Meowth?"

"They're bad guys from Kanto that steal other people's Pokemon, Iris," Ash answered for her.

"Steal?!"

"Yeah, that's right. Though calling us the bad guys is a bit harsh, you know." Meowth responded in faux defensiveness. "We just want to give to those less fortunate. Those people being us." Meowth said with a confident grin.

"Wait, the Meowth can talk?!" Iris asked in confusion.

"Sure I can talk. I am among the rarest of the rare, kid." Meowth said with an egotistical smile.

"You better stop with stealing our Pokemon right now, Team Rocket, or else you will be sorry!" Ash threatened.

"Yeah, you better give back my Axew!" Iris also called out.

"Sorry, but not going to happen." Jessie responded. "These Pokemon of yours are going to be a special gift for the boss."

"Our boss has given us a huge vote of confidence in our abilities to steal many Pokemon from Unova for him!" James added on.

"Oh yeah? Pidove, I choose you!" Ash called out as he threw Pidove's Pokeball, the pigeon leaving her Pokeball in a flash of blue light. "Pidove, use Gust!" The pigeon proceeded to form a strong gust of wind that pushed back Team Rocket.

"Oh yeah? Well, two can play at that game. Woobat, come forth!" Jessie called out as she released Woobat from her Pokeball. "Woobat, counter with your own Gust." The bat Pokemon proceeded to do just that, overpowering Pidove's Gust without much difficulty. "Now, use Air Slash!" The bat Pokemon proceeded to create two energy buzz saws that proceeded to hit and knock out Pidove without much effort. "Thanks for the help." Jessie thanked, returning Woobat to her Pokeball. "Now let's get out of here."

At this, the briefcase changed into a glass cage that proceeded to hold both Pikachu and Axew in it. In addition, the cage proceeded to connect itself to a high tech hot air balloon basket for a familiar Meowth-shaped balloon. The Team Rocket trio proceeded to enter the basket as the balloon proceeded to rise up into the sky.

"You're not going to get away from us, Team Rocket!" Ash called up to the trio.

"Yeah, you will be giving us back our Pokemon!" Iris also called up, beginning to climb a nearby tree, jumping from branch to branch. Ash, meanwhile, began to climb the tree by the trunk and he rushed to the top, jumping for the cage holding Pikachu and Axew. However, Ash just barely missed the cage, falling to the ground in failure.

"Pikachu! Use Iron Tail to break free!" Pikachu attacked the cage, only for the cage to hold out against the attack.

The Team Rocket trio proceeded to laugh in triumph over their apparent victory. "Stupid twerp, thinking that he could break our cage that easilly. At this point, it would take you a miracle to stop us!" James yelled out, mocking the two trainers.

However, just as the balloon was about to escape, Oshawott appeared suddenly and threw his scalchop at the balloon, popping it with ease.

The balloon fell to the ground, the Team Rocket trio and the captured Pokemon along with them. "I thought you said that our new balloon was unpoppable." Jessie blamed her two teammates.

"We never said that." Meowth defended.

Before any more blame could be spread, Ash and Iris pushed past them and freed their Pokemon from the now damaged cage.

"Pikachu, you alright, buddy?" Ash worriedly asked. Pikachu responded with a happy cry.

"Axew, it is so good to see that you are alright," Iris said in relief.

"You won't be winning that easily, twerps," Jessie called out in anger.

"Yeah, you are dealing with the brand new Team Rocket," James added on.

"Woobat, come forth!" Jessie called out as she released her Woobat from her Pokeball. "Woobat, use Gust!" Woobat complied, attacking the injured Pikachu and Axew, weakening them a fair bit. "Great job, now use Air Slash!" Woobat proceeded to send out two energy buzz saws that were aimed at Pikachu and Axew. However, before they could hit, Oshawott proceeded to deflect the buzz saws with his scalchop and then hit the Woobat back with a Water Gun, knocking the bat Pokemon out.

"Okay, Pikachu, use Volt Tackle!" Ash called out for Pikachu to do. Pikachu rushed at the Team Rocket trio while being surrounded with electricity, hitting Team Rocket and sending them off into the sky.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" the Team Rocket trio called out as they were sent blasting off into the sky, a single twinkle being the only remaining sign of the trio's presence.

"Way to go, Pikachu!" Ash called out in joy as Pikachu began to pant heavily from all the damage he took. "You really showed Team Rocket a thing or two!" Suddenly, Pikachu collapsed onto the ground due to the damage he took. "Pikachu! Are you okay?!" Pikachu was unable to give out a reassuring cry due to being unconscious. "We need to get Pikachu to a Pokemon Center and fast."

* * *

"We took a look at all of your Pokemon and they are all looking healthy." Nurse Joy reassured Ash and Iris, having arrived at the Pokemon Center at the edge of the forest. Next to Nurse Joy was Pikachu, Axew, and Pidove, all of which gave out reassuring cries to their trainers.

"Pikachu! Pidove! You're both okay!" Ash cried out, relieved that his Pokemon were okay.

"Oh, Axew. I hope we never run into those Team Rocket people again." Iris said, relieved that Axew was safe.

"I think that we both should be thanking Oshawott. Team Rocket may have escaped without their help." Ash said, crediting the water type starter for their success. "Speaking of which, where do you think Oshawott is now?" Unbeknownst to Ash, Oshawott was hiding outside of the Pokemon Center, wondering if he should continue following Ash.


	8. Team Plasma's Pokemon Caper

It was the next morning and Ash was ready to begin training for his first gym battle. It was for this reason that, after eating breakfast, he went outside in the backyard of the Pokemon Center with Pikachu, Snivy, and Pidove in order to start training.

"Okay, Pikachu use Thunderbolt on Snivy. Pidove, you use Air Cutter on Snivy. Snivy, you counter both attacks with Leaf Storm," Ash called for his three Pokemon to do All three of the Pokemon complied, with all three attacks hitting each other and creating a large dust cloud. When the dust cleared, all three of the Pokemon were left unharmed by the attack barrage. "Pikachu and Pidove, you use Quick Attack on Snivy. Snivy, you dodge and spin in midair." The former two Pokemon dashed forth, as Snivy prepared herself to dodge the coming attacks, which she was able to do without much difficulty, spinning gracefully in midair all the while.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Ash, Iris was watching the four of them training from one of the back windows of the Pokemon Center. She had to admit, Ash seemed to be a bit more competent than she initially assumed. When she first met Ash, she thought he was just an incompetent trainer that wouldn't make it far as a trainer. His rookie mistakes and excitement were key to that line of thinking. Now, however, while she still thought of him as reckless and somewhat incompetent, she could admit that he was more competent than he first appeared, even to the point of being fairly good as a trainer all things considered. She decided that it was about time that she give him the credit he deserved.

At this point, all three of Ash's Pokemon were tired, having spent the better part of the morning launching, countering, and dodging attacks. At this, Ash decided that it would be best to give his Pokemon a well deserved break. "Great job, everyone." Ash congratulated his Pokemon. "Let's take a break for now and continue training in a little bit."

"Well, I must admit, you're a better trainer than I thought you were." Iris said, getting Ash's attention as he saw Iris leave the Pokemon Center and walk up to him. "At first, I thought that you were just a little kid, being childish and overly reckless in battle. However, after seeing your training I can see that you are a lot better than I initially gave you credit for. But you are still a bit of a kid."

"Thanks, I guess." Ash accepted the compliment. "You know, I have been a bit rusty while in the Unova region. Pikachu and I are both in need of getting back in the swing of things when it comes to battling and training. Mark my words, though, when the time comes my Pokemon and I will come out on top." Pikachu agreed with this with a happy cry, and so did Snivy and Pidove.

"Well, we'll see about that, right Axew?" Axew popped out of Iris' hair and gave an affirmative cry.

"Hey, I have a great idea, Iris."

"Really, what is it?"

"Let's have a Pokemon battle!" Ash offered.

"You w-want to battle?" Iris suddenly lost a lot of her enthusiasm.

"That's right. You seem to know a lot about battling and I need to continue training, so I figure a real Pokemon battle is just about the best thing for us right now. Right, Pikachu?" Pikachu gave out an affirmative cry, ready to battle after getting a little more rest. "How about it? Once my Pokemon get some rest we can have a battle. Does that sound good?"

"W-well I um-I" Iris was barely able to get this out, feeling very uncomfortable with the idea of battling Ash, especially given the state that both her Pokemon were currently in.

"Uh, are you okay, Iris?" Ash asked, concerned for the big haired girl.

Suddenly, Iris thought of a way out of battling Ash, "Actually, I would prefer not to battle you at all right now, seeing as how I am likely far above where you are right now." Axew looked a bit confused at this, but ultimately agreed with Iris, understanding why she was refusing to battle.

"What do you mean by that?" Ash asked out of confusion. "Pikachu and I have faced much tougher odds. Need I remind you that we tied with a Latios?"

"You mean the Latios you claimed you tied with? Yeah right. I'll believe you when I see some proof." Iris said, not really believing Ash's claims. "Besides, I don't need you running off all dejected when you lose to me anyway."

"Say what?!" Ash cried out in anger, Pikachu looking concerned for where this is going.

"You heard me." Iris gloated. "There is no way you could ever beat me in a thousand years so you are better off giving up now rather than trying and failing to beat me."

"Listen here. Pikachu and I have been traveling together for as long as I can remember. During that time, we've battled tons of difficult opponents, including some legendary Pokemon. So don't be telling me that I will lose against you, Iris." Ash retorted. "In fact, how do I know that you even can battle? For all I know you might not even be a proper trainer yet, yourself."

At this Iris started to get steamed, her anger showing very clearly on her bright red face. "Well, why do I need to listen to you anyway?! I can battle and I don't need to prove it to you or anybody else!"

"Well I think that you should become a proper trainer rather than faking being one by judging me all the time!" Ash countered back.

"I am trying to help you, Ash!" Iris tried to defend herself. "You just don't get the points I bring up is all!"

"Well, thanks, but newsflash, I am not an idiot! I can take care of myself!"

"Oh, sure. Of course you can. That's why you failed to catch a Deerling a few days ago." Iris muttered sarcastically.

"Well why do I need you over my shoulder all the time?! You should just leave!"

"Okay, fine! I don't need your help or your garbage opinion of me and my battling skills anyway, you little kid!" At this, Iris stormed off into the forest, wanting to get out of this situation as quickly as possible.

Ash's Pokemon looked on, confused and concerned over what had just happened. Ash, on the other hand, was left still bitter over what had just happened.

* * *

"Hm, stupid Ash. Claiming to know how well of a battler I am." Iris was standing with her back against a tree, muttering to herself in frustration. "If I could battle, I would definitely show him." Her anger suddenly died down into a somber mood as she suddenly sat down on the ground, her arms hugging her legs as Axew comfortingly placed a claw on her leg. "Oh, who am I kidding? The way my Pokemon are now, I wouldn't stand a chance."

Suddenly, two mysterious figures wearing trench coats approached Iris. One of the figures said in a gruff, male voice, "Nice Axew you got there, kid."

Iris was snapped out of her thoughts by this, looking up at the two figures, confused by their style of dress but still thankful for the compliment, "Uh, thanks?"

The male voiced figure responded, "You're welcome, kid."

The other figure, who had a female voice spoke up, "So, I take it that you are having problems with a Pokemon trainer, right?"

Iris was confused at them asking this personal of a question, but she figured it wouldn't be too bad to share her experiences with these two. After all, they seemed to be nice and maybe they could help her figure out what to do next. So Iris explained everything that had happened from her first meeting with Ash to her big fight with him. The two seemed to be very understanding of Iris's grievances with Ash, as they gave appropriate reactions at the right points and, once Iris was done, were sympathetic of what had occurred.

"That is some story," the male responded. "Just goes to show how mean that Pokemon trainers can be."

"I wouldn't go that far," Iris said. "He just pushed some wrong buttons that got me mad."

"Still, I think that there is something we can do to help you out, Iris," the female reassured.

"Really? What is that?" Iris asked out of curiosity.

"By taking both Ash's and your Pokemon!" both figures answered.

"Wait, what?!" Iris called out in shock.

Before Iris could do anything, the male figure grabbed Axew and started to run, with the female figure following after him. Axew, meanwhile, was starting to cry upon being taken away from his trainer. The male figure, noticing the crying, responded by saying, "Don't cry Axew. You're now free from your oppressor." At this, Axew began to cry louder than before.

Meanwhile, Iris began to chase after the two figures, not wanting them to get away with her Axew. Eventually, she managed to corner them near a mountain wall. "Okay, you're cornered. Now give me back my Axew, you thieves!"

"Oh, you got us wrong, little girl," the female figure responded. "We are freedom fighters, fighting for the freedom of all Pokemon."

"Yeah. Your Axew just doesn't know that they are free from you just yet," the male figure said.

"Who are you anyway?!" Iris demanded from the thieves.

"I'm Michael," the male said.

"I'm Kate," the female said.

"And together we are a part of Team Plasma!" the both of them cried out.


	9. Team Plasma's Pokemon Caper Part 2

"Team Plasma?! Who are you guys? Are you another pair of Pokemon thieves?" Iris demanded, wanting to know what these two were doing trying to steal her Axew.

Kate answered, "We from Team Plasma are not Pokemon thieves. On the contrary, we are trying to save Pokemon from being forced to be with the evil that is a Pokemon trainer."

"Pokemon trainers are not bad! If anything, you two are bad for stealing my Axew. So, give him back now!" Iris demanded.

Michael responded, "Nonsense. We are not the bad guys, little girl. Sooner or later you and the rest of Unova will see our point of view. However, for the moment," the Team Plasma grunt threw down a smoke bomb. Iris coughed heavily upon the smoke bomb being thrown down. When the smoke cleared, both of the Team Plasma grunts and Axew were gone.

Immediately, Iris climbed to the top of a tree in order to see if she could find the two grunts. However, she didn't find anything from her higher vantage point. Eventually, the girl was left with little else to do other than one thing that could work in the here and now, "I need to ask for help."

* * *

"Pikachu, use Volt Tackle on Pidove. Pidove, dodge the attack." Pikachu complied, rushing at the tiny pigeon while surrounded by a field of electricity. At the last minute, Pidove flew out of the way, dodging the attack. "Great job, you guys. At this rate, we are likely to do well in our first Unova gym battle." Before Ash could continue with his Pokemon's training, Iris suddenly arrived. Ash was immediately filled with many mixed feelings. While part of him wanted to be nice and friendly with her, part of him was still mad at her from their earlier argument. Still, he did his best to be hospitable in spite of his anger. "So, Iris. How are you doing?"

"Listen, I need your help." Iris was quick to say. "Some strange people stole Axew and I need your help getting him back. So, can you please help?"

"You need help? Aren't you supposed to be a superior trainer to me?" Ash asked, his anger still somewhat present in his voice.

"Trust me, I do need to get your help. I-I lied. I don't have very many Pokemon. Aside from Axew, I only have one other Pokemon that won't listen to me. So, please. Just help me. I will help you in any way I can. I will stop calling you a kid. Please, Axew means everything to me." At this, Iris was starting to get wet eyes, as she struggled to keep from crying.

Ash's anger was quick to fizzle away at this. While he was mad from their earlier fight, he found he couldn't stay mad at her following this show of emotional vulnerability. To be fair, though, he would have helped regardless of his anger seeing as how he couldn't accept Pokemon being stolen from others. "Okay. I will help you."

"Oh, thank you Ash!" Iris cried out, hugging Ash in gratitude for agreeing to help.

"Don't mention it," Ash said awkwardly.

* * *

Pidove was soaring through the sky, searching for the two grunts that had stolen Axew under the guise of "rescuing" him. Meanwhile, Iris had just finished explaining everything that had happened involving Team Plasma.

"I cannot believe those two! Stealing Pokemon is an act I cannot easily forgive." Ash said in anger upon hearing the whole story, Pikachu crying out in angry agreement. "Even worse, they wanted to steal my Pokemon as well. What is this Team Plasma's deal anyway?"

"I don't know. All I know is that we need to stop them and get back my Axew!" Iris cried out in anger.

Just then, Pidove returned to the trainer duo, crying out several times, trying to say something. "What is it Pidove? Did you find them?" Ash questioned. Pidove nodded in agreement. "Great. Show us where they are, quickly."

Pidove proceeded to lead Ash and Iris down a rocky path near the same place that Iris had cornered the duo earlier. Upon arriving, Iris started to grow annoyed upon being brought back to this spot, "This is the same place I last saw them earlier!" However, before Iris could say anything else, Pidove pushed a rock on the wall with her foot, which opened a secret door in the rock wall. "Oh. Never mind," Iris muttered in embarrassment at her outburst.

"Thank you for the help, Pidove. Now return and get a good rest," Ash said as he returned Pidove to her Pokeball. "Now, shall we go on?" Iris nodded and the two walked down the hidden path. For what felt like hours, the two of them walked though the secret, rocky path with barely anything to light the way. However, eventually, Ash and Iris approached a bright light. What they found was a small room. In the room was a large computer screen and a set of chairs and tables, far more than what could accompany just the two thieves. There were also many cabinets that contained who knows what, possibly tools to aid in stealing Pokemon. Lastly, the room contained Michael, Kate, and Axew.

"Axew! You're okay." Iris cried out in relief as she ran towards him. However, Michael and Kate blocked off Iris from reuniting with Axew. Axew, on the other hand, was also relieved to see Iris as well.

"What do you two think you are doing? That Axew belongs to Iris," Ash yelled out.

"We are liberating the poor dear so that it doesn't have to be forced to battle for you anymore," Kate explained Team Plasma's goal.

"Well, we will be getting back Axew and leaving this place one way or another, you jerks!" Iris cried out.

"That's what you think. Frillish, stop these trainers now!" At this, Kate threw out a Pokeball, which opened and contained a pink Frillish.

"Whirlipede, you help out Frillish," Michael said as he threw out a Pokeball that opened, containing a Whirlipede.

"What are those Pokemon?" Ash asked as he got out his Pokedex.

**Frillish, the Floating Pokémon. Frillish can constrict its foes using its veil-like tentacles and numb them with poison. It is said to live in dens some ****five miles** **below sea level.**

**Whirlipede, the Curlipede Pokémon. Whirlipede can spin its hard shelled body like a tire to smash into opponents.**

"Interesting. Wait a moment. You said it was bad to own Pokemon, but you two still own them," Ash called out the two Team Plasma grunts.

"We only own Pokemon so that we can liberate Pokemon from other trainers, nothing more," Michael answered.

"Makes sense to me, hypocrites," Iris called out to the two. "Ash, you ready to battle?"

"Yes I am. In fact, I have just the Pokemon to fight them back. Snivy, Pidove, I choose you." Ash threw out two Pokeballs, which opened to send out Snivy and Pidove, with both of them giving out a cry as they did so. "Snivy, use Vine Whip on Frillish. Pidove, use Gust on Whirlipede." Both Pokemon complied, their attacks successfully knocking Whirlipede and Frillish back and into the tables and chairs.

"So, you think you can beat us? Well, then Frillish, use Poison Sting!" Kate cried out.  
"Whirlipede, you use Poison Sting as well!" Michael also cried out.

Both of the grunt's Pokemon attacked hitting Ash's Snivy and Pidove, scoring clean hits on the duo. Before they could continue to do damage, Pikachu used Iron Tail to deflect the last of the Poison Stings, hitting their original attackers cleanly and quickly.

"Thanks, Pikachu. Now, Snivy, use Leaf Blade on Frillish, Pidove, use Quick Attack on Whirlipede, and Pikachu use Thunderbolt on both of them," Ash called out for his three Pokemon to do.

The three Pokemon started to comply, with Snivy leaping at Frillish with her tail glowing green, Pidove dashed quickly at Whirlipede, and Pikachu let out a powerful jolt of electricity.

"Frillish, use Water Pulse on Pidove," Kate ordered, her Frillish creating a water orb.

"Whirlipede, use Steamroller on Snivy," Michael also ordered, his Whirlipede spinning like a tire forward towards Snivy.

"Snivy, Pidove, dodge the attacks and continue yours!" Ash cried out. The two jumped and spun out of the way of the attacks without much effort and then followed up with their attacks. Both attacks hit their targets cleanly, leaving both of their targets exhausted. Before they could recover, Ash's Pikachu hit them both with a mighty jolt of electricity, knocking both of the grunt's Pokemon unconscious, which the grunts proceeded to recall into their Pokeballs. "Well, looks like we won."

"Yeah, so give us back my Axew and we will be on our way," Iris demanded with fury.

"Fine. You can have your Axew back." Kate said, "But know that so long as you continue to own Pokemon, you are contributing to the problem." At this, both Michael and Kate moved to the side, allowing Axew to return to Iris.

"Axew!" Iris said as Axew rushed into her arms, the two hugging each other. "It's good to have you back." After the two were done hugging, Axew returned to Iris's hair. "Now tell me. What are you two thinking that it is bad for Pokemon and humans to be together?"

"That information isn't for you to know just yet," Michael said. "All you need to know is that we work for a larger group than just the two of us. Why do you think our lair is as big as it is? Now, that I have given you an answer and your Pokemon is returned, get out."

Realizing that they weren't going to get any more information from the grunts, Ash, Ash's Pokemon, and Iris left the lair, still confused as to what their deal was.

* * *

When the two got out of the lair it was close to sunset. As Ash and Iris walked back to the Pokemon Center, they decided to have a bit of a conversation.

"Thanks again for your help, Ash. I don't know what would happen without your help," Iris thanked the boy.

"Don't mention it. I can't stand people stealing other's Pokemon." Pikachu gave out a cry, agreeing with Ash's sentiment.

"I-I'm sorry for earlier, Ash. I guess I just have a ways to go to get back to being a good trainer." Axew gave out a cry in agreement.

"It's OK, Iris. I used to be a bit of a big shot as a trainer when I was just starting out, even though I relied mostly on luck to win. If anything, I should also be apologizing to you for what I said. So, anyway, what was that about having a Pokemon that won't listen to you? Maybe I can help."

"I'd rather not say right now." Iris responded.

"Well, if you change your mind just let me know."

The two were mostly silent after this, as they walked toward the Pokemon Center.

"Hey, Iris?

"Yes Ash?

"What do you think was up with those Team Plasma people anyway?"

"I don't know. I just hope we never run into them again." Iris said.

While the two were thinking that this was the first and final time they would ever run into Team Plasma, as it turned out, it would be far from the last encounter with the group they would have.


	10. A Sandile Gusher of Change!

**Hello everyone. Sorry if this chapter is weaker than past chapters. I wasn't sure what to do with this chapter other than what was already done with this episode, which isn't easy when you only have the bulbapedia site to go off of. Either way, hope you enjoy this chapter and that I do better on the next one. **

**P.S. Also, in my fanfic, every Pokemon can know more than four moves, but they can only use four in any particular battle.**

* * *

The next day, Ash and Pikachu left the Pokemon Center to be on their way to Striaton City, the duo noticed that they were being followed by Iris and Axew. Upon noticing that they were being followed, Ash called out, "You know I can see you two, right?"

At this, Iris stiffened for a second. Then, she walked up to the young trainer to say, "OK, fine, I was following you. I just thought that we were going to be traveling together after all that just happened."

"OK, sure. I'm fine with having a travel companion. I'm just confused. Why do you want to go with me anyhow?" Ash thought for a second before he remembered what Iris had told him the day before. "It's because of your lack of Pokemon, isn't it?" Ash tactlessly said.

At this, Iris got mad. "Hey, for your information, I could easily go out and catch a new Pokemon very quickly if I wanted to. I just can't find any right now, that's all."

Ash wanted to argue this point, but he decided not to. After all, the last time he argued with her did not end very well and he wanted to avoid another fight like yesterday's. So, instead, Ash awkwardly, yet begrudgingly, apologized, "Sorry."

Before the conversation could continue, the trainers and their Pokemon were interrupted by the appearance of an Oshawott.

"Hey, isn't that the Oshawott from a few days ago?" At this, Ash got out his Pokedex and scanned the Pokemon.

**Oshawott, the Sea Otter Pokémon. Oshawott attacks** **and defends using the scalchop** **that can be removed from its stomach.**

"Aw, isn't that sweet," Iris said as Ash and Pikachu turned to her. "Oshawott must want to go with me. Huh, don't ya?" Iris proceeded to pick up Oshawott and hugged him. However, Oshawott quickly squirted Iris with Water Gun and then proceeded to jump onto Ash's shoulder, knocking Pikachu off in the process. "Or not."

Needless to say, Pikachu was very unhappy to have been pushed off of Ash's shoulder and shot out a Thunderbolt in response. However, Oshawott countered by using his scalchop to deflect the attack, hitting Ash instead, and causing him to fall to the ground.

As soon as Ash got back up, Iris made the suggestion, "Hey, I'm thinking that maybe Oshawott wants to go with you, Ash."

"Huh? You really think so?" Ash asked, with Oshawott responding with a nod. At this, Ash smiled and said, "OK, sure. I'm happy to extend my Pokemon friends. Besides, consider this a thank you for helping us with Team Rocket yesterday. Pokeball, go!" Ash threw an empty Pokeball at Oshawott, which proceeded to hit Oshawott on the head before rising into the air and opening. However, instead of going into the Pokeball, the red light broke and the Pokeball closed again. "Huh? Why didn't it work? You should have gone into the Pokeball unless…" suddenly, Ash realized why the Pokeball failed. "You are the Oshawott that belongs to Professor Juniper!"

* * *

After finding out that Oshawott belonged to Professor Juniper, Ash was quick to find a store that had a monitor phone for him to contact the professor with, with Iris and Oshawott following him there.

After Ash explained the situation, Professor Juniper was very relieved, "Good to know, Ash. I was wondering where Oshawott had run off to and I was starting to get worried. So, how are you and your Pokemon doing?"

"We're doing great, Professor. Snivy, Pidove, come on out!" At this, Ash threw the Pokeballs for both Snivy and Pidove out as Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder, opening to show the Professor that his three Pokemon were doing fine.

"Good to see that you and your Pokemon are doing fine. As for Oshawott, don't worry. Seeing as how it has taken a liking to you, you can have Oshawott. I'll just send you its Pokeball right away." Suddenly, a Pokeball appeared in the transfer area. "There. The Pokeball should be there now.

"Thank you so much Professor." Ash thanked. "Now Oshawott, retu-" as Ash turned to recall Oshawott, Ash realized that he wasn't there. "Huh? What happened to Oshawott?" Ash asked Iris.

"I don't know. It must have run off when we weren't looking," Iris responded.

"Yeah, that Oshawott has a habit of running off," the Pokemon Professor explained. "Well, good luck with finding him, you guys." At this, the call ended.

"Well, we better go out and start searching," Ash recommended.

* * *

As everyone ran across the road looking for Oshawott, they were suddenly halted when they fell into a pitfall trap in the ground. As they fell, Pidove flew up out of the hole while Snivy used her Vine Whip to grab onto a tree branch to halt her descent.

"Man, I was not expecting to fall into a pitfall today," Ash said.

"I wonder who dug it," Iris wondered aloud.

"Maybe it was Team Rocket. They always pull traps like this on me and my friends constantly."

"Oh, it better not be them. I don't think I could stand to deal with their schemes."

"Hey! Are you guys OK?" a voice from above yelled out. At this, the duo and their Pokemon look up to see a brown haired boy outside of the pit. "The name is Dan. In case you were wondering, this pit was dug by a Sandile, you see. Recently, they have been acting up."

"A Sandile," Ash got out his Pokedex.

**Sandile, the Desert Croc Pokémon. A dark membrane protects its eyes from the sun, and it buries itself in the sand with its eyes and nose sticking out.**

* * *

Meanwhile, Team Rocket has also found themselves falling into a pitfall trap.

"I don't get it. Who dug this pitfall? That is usually our method," James said.

"How about we stop wondering and start focusing on getting out!" yelled Jessie.

"Man, today just isn't for us, is it?" Meowth said. Unknown to the trio, there was a Sandile wearing sunglasses watching them from nearby.

* * *

Dan proceeded to throw down a rope for Ash, Iris, Pikachu, and Axew to climb out with. While they climbed out of the pitfall, Snivy proceeded to pull herself up and out of the pit, jumping back onto the ground after she did so.

"Thanks for helping us Dan. By the way, the name is Ash," Ash thanked the boy, with Pikachu also giving out a cry in thanks.

"Yeah, same here. My name is Iris," Iris also thanked, with Axew sharing the sentiments with a cry. "Do you have any idea why the Sandile did this?"

"Don't mention it, and no, I don't know why the Sandile are doing this," Dan accepted the thanks. Once everyone was out of the pitfall, Dan proceeded to explain what was going on. "What I can tell you is that the Sandile are causing a lot of trouble. You see, I am helping my father to run a spa resort hotel. However, we are currently not running it due to all of the Sandile acting up." As he talked, he walked on his way back to the hotel, with Iris and Ash following to continue listening to Dan. "Our special attraction feature is a natural hot sand pit, where guests are given a sand bath by covering them with a layer of sand."

"That sounds relaxing, if a bit strange," Iris summed up her feelings toward the feature, as the trio arrived at the hotel.

"It was. Until...until a Sandile wearing sunglasses showed up. Ever since he showed up, the rest of the Sandile, which are normally peaceful, have started to act strangely."

"Yeah, it does sound strange. Why would the Sandile be doing this?" Ash spent a good minute thinking, trying to think of a way to get to the bottom of this Pokemon problem. Eventually, Ash had an idea. "I have an idea! The best way to get them to show up is to recreate what caused them to rampage in the first place."

"That sounds like a good idea as any," Dan complimented the idea.

* * *

After Ash changed into his swimwear, he, Pikachu, and Axew started to relax in one of the sand baths in order to lure in the Sandile and find out the mystery of why the Sandile are acting strange. Dan and Iris, meanwhile, were standing just outside of the bath.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket are watching the group from the bushes. "Looks like we may have our Pika gift for the boss," Jessie said.

"Why do you think they are burying themselves in sand, anyway?" asked James.

"Does it really matter? In a few short minutes, the Pika prize will belong to us and that tiny dragon will be a bonus gift for free." After Jessie finished talking, the trio proceeded to laugh in confidence that their plan would succeed.

Suddenly, the bushes behind them started to shake. "Huh? Hey, is it just me or are we being followed by someone?" Meowth questioned.

"It's probably just some random wild Pokemon. Leave it be," James suggested.

"Well, all right." Meowth cautiously accepted.

Unbeknownst to the trio, the Pokemon was the Sandile wearing sunglasses that had dug the pitfall earlier.

Back with Ash and company, they were relaxing in the sand bath when suddenly, Iris approached Ash and said, "I know that you are trying to help Dan and all, but shouldn't we be trying to look for Oshawott, too?"

At this, Ash stiffened and shot up like a bullet. "Oh man, you're right Iris. We need to go and look for him soon!" All of a sudden, everyone noticed that Oshawott was a lot closer than expected, as he was relaxing in a sand bath just opposite of the group.

Suddenly, there were sounds of digging coming from underneath the ground. Out of the ground jumped the Sandile with sunglasses, ready to battle. Dan then explained, "That's the Sandile that has been leading the other Sandile into acting out."

"Well, then. We better stop him once and for all. Snivy, I choose you," Ash threw Snivy's Pokeball and out popped the grass snake, ready to battle. However, instead of engaging the grass snake in battle, the Sandile instead attacked and grabbed Axew in his mouth. Pikachu prepared a Thunderbolt attack to stop the Sandile, but Iris stood in front of Pikachu.

"Stop! If we attack Axew could get hurt. Besides, Sandile is a ground type, meaning Pikachu won't be able to do anything to Sandile with his electric attacks," Iris warned.

"You're right Iris. We gotta get Axew back," Ash said in response to Iris's warning.

Everyone in the group, aside from Dan, started to wrestle the Sandile in a dust cloud in order to get Axew back from him. After not having any luck for some time, the group finally got Axew free when one of Pikachu's ears tickled the inside of Sandile's nose. Everyone stumbled back in response to freeing Axew. However, before the group could recover and try to find out why the Sandile were doing what they were doing, the sunglasses Sandile lashed out, grabbing Pikachu by one of his arms and Oshawott by the foot.

"Pikachu! Oshawott!" Ash cried out for the two Pokemon. His pleas fell on deaf ears as the Sandile started to bolt with both Pokemon in tow. All of a sudden, a strange orange crane device proceeded to grab the sunglasses Sandile, and Pikachu and Oshawott along with it. "Hey, what do you think you are doing?!"

"What a question, twerpish indeed!" said Jessie.

"We'll answer these questions when we feel the need!" said James.

"Bringing the blinding white light of evil into the future!"

"Thrusting the hammer of justice down onto the black darkness of the universe!"

"Carving our names in the Rock of Eternity!" said Meowth.

"The fiery destroyer, Jessie!" the pink haired woman said.

"And with thunderous emotion, I am James!" the blue haired man said.

"Wisest of the wise, Meowth!" said Meowth.

"And now gather, under the name of Team Rocket"! All three Team Rocket members called out.

"Not you guys again" Iris angrily yelled out in response to seeing the trio being present.

"Hey! Those Pokemon don't belong to you! Give them back!" Ash cried out.

"Finders keepers, losers weepers," the Team Rocket trio responded before they zoomed off on their crane.

"We have to follow them, quickly!" Ash yelled, wanting to save the captured Pokemon.

The human trio and Snivy began to run after the Team Rocket trio and their crane. However, Team Rocket anticipated this and Meowth threw a smoke bomb behind them, blocking out the trainer's sight for a while. It looked like, for a moment, that Team Rocket had actually won and that they would get away with the three Pokemon. However, all of a sudden, the front left of their crane ended up sinking into the ground. As it turned out, the leader Sandile had called out for an attack on Team Rocket's crane. As the group of Ash, Iris, Dan, and Snivy arrived, with Ash back in his regular clothes, caught up to the crane which was being attacked by the Sandile using Dig. Team Rocket, out of options on what to do, were forced to run for the hills as the lead Sandle was finally freed from the crane.

* * *

The Sandile leader, after continuing to a certain spot, eventually let Pikachu and Oshawott go. Unknown to the Pokemon, Ash, Iris, and Dan were watching them from afar. "What do you think they are doing?" Ash asked.

"I'm not sure." answered Dan. "Wait, there seems to be some other Pokemon here." After looking some more, Ash and Iris saw what he was referring to as there were several Patrat, Deerling, and Pidove also present in the area.

The Sandile leader was saying something to the group of Pokemon. Before the trio could wonder what he was saying, a geyser was erupting in the background. The multiple Sandile then herded the group of Pokemon away from where they were at and onto a piece of ground. However, Pikachu and Oshawott stayed where they were at and didn't follow the group.

"What in the world is happening?" Iris asked.

"I don't know. This has never happened before." Dan answered, uncertain as to why the geysers were erupting. "Wait. Maybe the Sandile predicted that this was going to happen. The Sandile chased everyone away to protect the people and Pokemon."

"That makes sense. I knew that there must be some explanation behind the Sandile's behavior. That is what they were saying, right Snivy?" Ash questioned. Snivy nodded, showing that Dan's theory was true. Ash proceeded to leave the hiding spot to talk to Pikachu. However, when he left the hiding spot the Sandile spotted him. As the Sandile went to confront Ash, a series of geysers went off, leaving the piece of ground that the Pokemon were on to become surrounded by the boiling water. As a result of the boiling water surrounding the piece of ground, it started to crumble beneath the Pokemon. Ash attempted to rescue the helpless Pokemon but he was unable to reach them.

Thankfully, the lead Sandile bites some rock and places his body in a vertical position, allowing another Sandile to climb upon him and bite his tail, a process that was repeated with many Sandile. After the chain was finished, the Sandile swung themselves down to form a bridge for the Pokemon to climb over to safety. However, all of the Pokemon are too scared to cross the bridge.

Ash then tried to give a pep talk to the Pokemon, "Don't worry. You all will make it across okay. You just need to be confident that you can make it across." Pikachu also talked, backing up Ash's claims that they would be alright. The speech worked, as the Pokemon began to walk across the Sandile bridge to safety. Before all of the Pokemon could get across, the rock underneath where the end Sandile was fell away. Ash then went to grab the end Sandile to stop him from falling into the water. Suddenly, another large geyser went off and threatened to fall on top of Ash. However, he was saved by Oshawott using Water Gun in order to deflect the falling water. However, Oshawott began to helplessly fall toward the boiling water.

"Oshawott! Wait, of course." Ash pulled out Oshawott's Pokeball and recalled Oshawott, saving him from a dangerous fate. However, left with only one arm to hold on with, Ash loses his grip on the Sandile. However, before it was too late. Iris grabbed Ash's wrist and saves him, clinging to the Sandile. The Sandile bridge then returns to its vertical state, pulling the trainers with them and ultimately collapses.

"That sure was a close one, huh?" Dan said. "Thank you, Sandile. You saved many people and Pokemon by doing what you did." The Sandile all made calls, accepting the thanks for a job well done. "Also, thank you Ash and Iris. I may have never figured out the truth of what was going on without your help."

"Aw, don't mention it," Ash bashfully accepted the thanks.

"It was nothing," Iris also gracefully accepted the thanks.

"Hey, I have an idea. Since it is safe to say that we now have a hot spring at our hotel due to the geysers, how about you guys be the first to try out the hot springs out?"

"Sure thing," both Ash and Iris accepted the offer.


	11. The Battle Club and Tepig's Choice!

Team Rocket had just arrived in Accumula Town. In order to avoid detection, they decided to head into an empty alleyway.

"I can't believe we failed yet again to catch Pikachu," James said.

"Believe it, James. We failed for the several hundredth time," Meowth responded bitterly.

"Snap out of this pity party, you two. We are going to catch Pikachu and we will do it soon. After all, we have the boss counting on us to capture him," Jessie said. "Now, we just need the two of you to think of a plan."

"Yeah, you would say that," Meowth sarcastically said.

Before the conversation could continue, a Yamask suddenly flew into the alleyway.

"What Pokemon is that?" asked Jessie.

"Let me look on our intel computer," James said, looking through their Team Rocket database for any news on Unova Pokemon. It took a minute, but eventually James found the page on Yamask. "Looks like the Pokemon is called a Yamask, and they are rare to find in cities as they are mainly found in the Relic Castle."

"Well, then. I know just what we are going to do about this," Jessie said as she threw out Woobat's Pokeball, releasing the psychic bat to try and battle the Yamask until they heard a grumble from the Yamask. Suddenly, James stepped between the two Pokemon.

"Wait, let me try something first," James interrupted. "Judging by that grumble, I would guess that you are hungry, correct?" The Yamask nodded in agreement. "Well, I know just the thing to give you. Some delicious Pokemon food," James offered a can of the food to Yamask, who was quick to gobble up the food. After he was finished, he happily hovered in front of James. "There. All better?" The Yamask nodded. "Well, there's plenty more where that came from if you join Team Rocket. So, what do you say?" It took a minute of thinking, but the Yamask ultimately agreed to join Team Rocket. "Okay then. Pokeball, go!" James threw out an empty Pokeball, which proceeded to capture the Yamask without much trouble. "Great! Now we both have Pokemon, Jessie!"  
"Yeah, yeah, I got it." Jessie boredly responded to her blue haired teammate. All of a sudden, there was a beeping noise coming from the computer. "What is that noise?"

"It must be our computer. I bet it's the boss trying to contact us," Meowth answered as he pressed the accept call button on the computer.

"Greetings, you three," the Team Rocket boss greeted. "Listen up. I have an important task for you three. I need you to get to Striaton City straight away. Further information will be revealed once you arrive. Giovanni, over and out," at this, the computer screen went dark.

"You heard the boss. We need to get to Striaton City right away," Meowth ordered.

"You're right. We need to get to Striaton City on the double!" Jessie said. However, before the trio could leave, they heard grumbling from their stomachs.

"But first we should get ourselves some supplies," James suggested.

Meanwhile, Ash left the forest to find himself entering the outside of Accumula Town.

"Hey, Pikachu. Do you think that this is Striaton City?" Ash asked his partner who was currently on his shoulder. Pikachu gave a shrug, uncertain as to whether or not this was the city.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Ash, but this is Accumula Town, not Striaton City. Striaton City is the next town," Iris explained.

"Aw man. I was so looking forward to my first Unova Gym battle too," Ash sighed out in disappointment.

Feeling bad for the Pokemon trainer, Iris decided to add on, "Don't be sad. I know something that you may like. It's called the Pokemon Battle Club."

"Pokemon Battle Club?" Ash asked, with Pikachu giving out a curious cry.

Iris brought Ash and Pikachu outside of a large green building. Upon going inside, Iris started to explain how the Pokemon Battle Club worked. "You see, in the battle club, you are able to arrange battles with other trainers," Iris started to explain. As she continued to explain the workings of the battle club she went towards one of the computers. Four panels appeared on the screen and Iris chose the top left one with a picture of two Trainers. "Another thing that you can do at the battle club is train your Pokemon to get stronger. However, you can't do much without signing in and creating an account for the battle club." As she said this, she showed an example of a Trainer's profile as pictures of Pokemon with their Trainers appeared. "Pokemon Battle Clubs are in almost every city or town in Unova, so you don't have to worry about looking for them too much."

"Wow. Battle Clubs sound amazing! Also sounds like the best place to continue training for my first Gym Battle. Sign me up," Ash excitedly said.

After signing up and creating a battle club account, Ash, Iris, Pikachu, and Axew went into the battling room where there was already a battle in progress, with one trainer battling with a Dewott and the other a Servine. "Wow, who are those Pokemon?" Ash got out his Pokedex.

**Servine, the Grass Snake Pokémon, and the evolved form of ****Snivy****. Servine ****whips** **its opponents with vines, and dodges their attacks by hiding in the shadows of thick foliage.**

**Dewott, the Discipline Pokémon, and the evolved form of ****Oshawott****. Through rigid training, Dewott uses the double-****scalchop** **technique to accomplish its fluid swordsmanship.**

"Servine, use Leaf Blade!" the Servine trainer ordered.

However, before the Leaf Blade could hit the Dewott, the Dewott trainer commanded, "Dewott, use Water Gun." The attack worked, blasting back the Servine and knocking him out, where he fell towards Ash and Iris.

"Servine is unable to battle. Dewott wins," a rather large announcer called.

"Servine, are you OK?" the Servine trainer asked. The Servine gave a reassuring cry, though he was unable to currently stand. "Don't worry. I'll take you to a Pokemon Center." At this, the Servine trainer picked up his Servine and carried the injured Pokemon out of the battle club.

The announcer, who was a man with a big nose and mustache and wearing a fighting gi, approached Ash and Iris. "Hello there, you two. My name is Don George and welcome to my battle club."

"Hi Don. I'm Ash from Pallet Town," Ash greeted.

"My name is Iris. It's so good to meet you," Iris also greeted.

"I see that you have a Pikachu. You know, they are not native to Unova," Don George pointed out.

"Yeah, well Pikachu is my partner and buddy, you know. So I had to bring him with me to Unova," Ash explained.

"Hey, Ash was it?" the Dewott trainer asked, "Is your Pikachu strong?"

"Yes, he is."

"Well then, I challenge you to a battle!"

"I accept your challenge!"

The two trainers were ready to battle, the Dewott trainer with his Dewott and Ash with Pikachu. However, before the battle could begin, Oshawott popped out of his Pokeball ready to battle.

"Oshawott. I'm sorry, but I'm battling with Pikachu. Maybe next time," Ash gently let the sea otter Pokemon down. Pikachu also spoke to Oshawott, trying to convince him to not battle. However, Oshawott pushed Pikachu to the ground, ready to battle. However, upon turning to see his opponent was his evolved form, Dewott, he quickly changed his mind and commanded Pikachu to battle instead. Ash recalled Oshawott to his Pokeball and was ready to fight Oshawott. "Okay, Pikachu, let's start with a Thunderbolt." Pikachu complied and zapped out a powerful bolt of lightning. However, the Dewott was quick to dodge the attack.

"That was fast," Iris said, with Axew giving out a cry in agreement.

"Alright, Pikachu use Iron Tail," Ash commanded. Pikachu complied and hit Dewott back near its trainer, where it was having trouble getting back up. "Now, Pikachu, use Volt Tackle!" Pikachu started to dash towards Dewott with a field of electricity surrounding him. However, at the last minute, Dewott jumped out of the way.

"Okay, Dewott use Razor Shell," the opposing Trainer ordered. Dewott grabbed his scalchops off of his body and striked Pikachu with them. "Okay, Dewott, let's attack with another Razor Shell." Dewott rushed at Pikachu, ready to hit Pikachu once again.

However, before Pikachu could be hit, Ash commanded, "Now, Pikachu, use Thunderbolt as a Counter Shield around you." Pikachu did so, creating a field of electricity around himself, which proceeded to protect him from Dewott's attack as well as attack him at the same time. "Great, now let's wrap this up with Volt Tackle." Once again, the Pikachu proceeded to dash at Dewott while surrounded with electricity. Pikachu's attack hit, knocking out Dewott while Pikachu took a bit of recoil damage from using Volt Tackle.

"Dewott is unable to battle. Pikachu wins. The victory goes to Ash of Pallet Town," Don George made the call.

"We did it Pikachu!" Ash excitedly congratulated his partner, picking him up in a hug. "Ready for another battle?" Pikachu agreed, both Pokemon and Trainer ready for another battle.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket had broken into a nearby building, ready to rob it of its contents for supplies. Unbeknownst to the trio, they were not alone, as a Pokemon dashed out of the building, causing Team Rocket to make a noise that set off the alarm.

Just as Ash was about to begin another battle with Oshawott and Pikachu, the battle got put on hold by the alarm. "The alarm for our supply room has gone off!" Don George yelled out, with him and his subordinates running off to check on the supply room.

"What do you think that was about?" asked Iris.

"I don't know. Maybe we should follow them," Ash suggested.

The group ran after Don George and his subordinates, who had just finished inspecting the supply building, only to find nothing out of the ordinary. "Nothing here. Maybe we should check the security cameras," the battle club owner suggested.

Everyone went into a room where there was a monitor showing the building's rooms in a 3D view. The video showed Team Rocket running off from the building.

"It's Team Rocket! I had a feeling it might be them." Ash angrily muttered.

"You guys know them?" asked Don George.

"Um, yes! They tried to steal our Pokemon and it looks like they tried to steal from you, too!" Iris bitterly yelled.

"Hold on, sir." One of the subordinates interrupted. "There appears to be something else escaping the building." The video continued, showing a dark black Pokemon following the trio.

"A Pokemon?" Ash wondered. "Wait a second." Ash pulled out his Pokedex and pulled up the Pokedex entry for a Pokemon. "Here." Ash handed the Pokedex to Don George. "It may be this Pokemon."

**Umbreon, the Moonlight Pokémon, and an evolved form of ****Eevee****. The rings of Umbreon's body glow faintly when exposed to the moon's aura, and it gains a mysterious power.**

"Umbreon. That's a rare Pokemon in Unova," Don George commented. "Still, that would be a good Pokemon to catch."

"Why don't we help you?" Ash offered.

"Yeah, if we catch it you won't have to worry about Umbreon stealing from you anymore. Not only that, but I may just get a new Pokemon as well," Iris' eyes lit up in excitement as she said this.

"Well, I guess we could use the extra help. OK, fine. We'll let you help us catch Umbreon," Don George accepted the extra help. "Me and my assistants will go look for the Pokemon. You do whatever you can do to help."

"I think that the best way to catch Umbreon is to leave out food for it to eat. It has got to be hungry after all," Ash rationalized.

"You know, that isn't such a bad idea, especially coming from you," Iris somewhat complimented.

"Right." Ash awkwardly accepted the compliment. "Now, Oshawott and Pikachu, you stay at this batch of food and guard it. It would be a possibility that Umbreon would return to its original spot. Let us know if Umbreon gets the food or not." Both Pokemon gave a nod of understanding to their trainer. "Pidove, you check the skies for Umbreon. Snivy, you help me set up and look over the other batches of food." Pidove and Snivy also nodded, with Pidove taking to the skies and Snivy heading to Ash's side. "Now, let's get moving everybody." All of Ash's Pokemon went to do what they were asked to do while Iris went to look at some of the other batches of food.

Shortly after Ash left, Oshawott got hungry. Figuring that the Umbreon would just go to one of the other batches of food, he decided to eat the food himself. Partway through eating, Pikachu noticed the water type Pokemon eating the food and tried to stop him. Instead, Oshawott pushed Pikachu away and had several boxes fall on him. Before Pikachu could get back up and stop Oshawott, a metal container fell on Pikachu, knocking him out cold.

Ash and Snivy went to each of the locations that they had placed food at. So far, there was no sign of the Umbreon that they saw on camera. The two were close to giving up and trying another plan when Pidove suddenly returned, having seen a Pokemon matching the description on video. The duo followed Pidove to one of the batches of food, recalling Pidove after doing so, and saw a black and skinny Pokemon. However, it wasn't the Umbreon that Ash thought it was.

It was a Tepig. "I guess that I was wrong. The Pokemon was only a Tepig. One that is skinny and covered in black soot. No wonder we thought it was Umbreon." Ash rationalized.

Ash got out his Pokedex silently and looked up Tepig's entry.

**Tepig, the Fire Pig Pokémon. Normally, fire shoots out of Tepig's snout, but it shoots out smoke instead when it is feeling ill.**

The Tepig, in spite of being skinny, wasn't eating the food at all. Upon looking further, Ash realized the reason why. The poor Pokemon had a rope tied around his mouth that was keeping his mouth from opening to eat.

"I can't believe this. Who could do something so cruel to a Pokemon?" Ash pondered. Ash decided to approach the Tepig carefully to try and get the rope off. However, before he could reach the miserable Pokemon, Iris arrived.

"Hey, Ash! Did you find the Umbreon, yet?!" Iris yelled out. This was heard by the Tepig, who panicked and began to run away from Ash and Iris.

"Iris, I found out that the Pokemon isn't an Umbreon. It's a Tepig. We need to catch it. It has a rope around its mouth keeping it from eating!" Ash quickly said before he and Snivy chased after Tepig.

"Wait, what?! Hey, wait up!" Iris chased after the group.

The trio chased after the Tepig for quite some time. The small Pokemon had a surprising amount of energy left in spite of his lack of food. Eventually, however, the trio eventually cornered Tepig. Tepig looked terrified of the approaching trio, especially Iris who had spooked him. Ash, however, carefully approached the poor Pokemon, trying his best to console him all the while. In spite of this, the Tepig would not calm down. At this, Snivy approached the Tepig and sent out a Vine Whip, gently touching and rubbing the back of the Pokemon. Finally, Tepig seemed to calm down.

"There. See, we don't mean you any harm. We just want to help." Ash then grabbed the Tepig and started to untie the rope tied around his mouth. It took some time and effort to do so, but eventually Tepig was free to use his mouth again. "Now, we just give you some food to eat and voila, you should be feeling much better in no time." Ash offered the Tepig food, which he did not hesitate to gobble down quickly. After eating the food and getting cleaned off, Tepig looked a lot happier. Everyone present was a lot happier as well, even Snivy. The merry group decided to take Tepig to Don George to see if he knew anything about what happened to Tepig.

While all of this was going on, Don George and his assistants continued their search for Umbreon. Team Rocket was in a pickle as they couldn't easily steal from the warehouses so long as the group were out looking for Umbreon. However, upon hearing the reason for their search, the trio had an idea. Jessie painted Meowth to look like an Umbreon, much to Meowth's displeasure, and Meowth lured Don George and his workers away from the building to give Jessie and James a chance to search.

"You find anything useful, Jessie?" asked James.

"Not unless you count empty boxes as something interesting," Jessie bitterly responded.

"Ugh, we will never find anything of worth at this rate," James said as he moved the boxes. "I guess we should have known that this would be a bust from the-" suddenly, James stopped as he noticed something lying underneath the boxes. It was Pikachu, of all things. And he was unconscious! "Pi-Pikachu! Oh my stars, we have found Pikachu!"

"Wait, really?" Jessie turned to see that, indeed, James was holding the Mouse Pokemon in his hands. "Oh, we can chalk this up as our first major victory for Team Rocket in Unova!" The two proceeded to gleefully place Pikachu into a sack before he woke up.

"Man. Note to self. Never dress up as a Pokemon in Unova again," Meowth said as he returned to check on Jessie and James before they left for Striaton City, only to be confused by his teammate's joy. After being filled in though, the trio proceeded to joyously jump up and down constantly. Unknown to the trio, Oshawott was watching them from behind some of the boxes.

After Tepig was done eating, which he did eat a lot of food, Ash, Snivy, and Iris went to find Don George and his workers.

"Hey, Don George. We found a Tepig. Actually, it turns out it was the Umbreon we were looking for," Ash introduced the Fire Pig Pokemon he was carrying. When Don George looked at Tepig, he flinched and looked away. His sight went towards Snivy, whom he gave a nervous smile and a blush, much to Snivy's confusion.

"Really? Well, so much for catching an Umbreon. Anyway, you seem to have found the Tepig that was abandoned here," Don George said.

"Wait, abandoned?! That's terrible!" Iris yelled out.

"I'll say!" Ash also felt enraged.

"You see, Tepig once belonged to a rather arrogant Trainer, who was not happy with the lack of progress Tepig was making. After being defeated by a Deerling, the Trainer abandoned him, claiming that 'it was for his own good.' When Tepig tried to follow him, the Trainer tied him to a pole. Tepig eventually broke free before I could help him, but the rope got tied to Tepig's mouth." As Don George finished his story, Ash, Iris, and Snivy were all enraged.

"Man, Tepig got one of the worst trainers ever, right Axew?" Iris muttered, with Axew giving out a cry that mirrored the sentiments.

Snivy was similarly mad. She had dealt with a not so good Trainer herself, but at least she broke free on her own. Tepig, on the other hand, was abandoned and mistreated, likely even lied to by his "Trainer." She couldn't stand to see this mistreatment and, even though she likely never could, she wished that there was something she could do about it.

Before anyone could do or say anything else, they noticed Team Rocket running away with a sack behind their backs. Following them was Oshawott, who was frantic about something. They would get their answer as to what as Pikachu gave a confused cry from inside of their rubber sack.

"OK, Team Rocket, what are you doing with my Pikachu?!"

"What a question, twerpish indeed!" said Jessie.

"We'll answer these questions when we feel the need!" said James.

"Bringing the blinding white light of evil into the future!"

"Thrusting the hammer of justice down onto the black darkness of the universe!"

"Carving our names in the Rock of Eternity!" said Meowth.

"The fiery destroyer, Jessie!" the pink haired woman said.

"And with thunderous emotion, I am James!" the blue haired man said.

"Wisest of the wise, Meowth!" said Meowth.

"And now gather, under the name of Team Rocket"! All three Team Rocket members called out.

"Enough of this. Snivy, use Leaf Storm now!" Ash called out, to which Snivy obeyed. Before it could hit them, James threw out a Pokeball, opening to show a Pokemon Ash hasn't seen before, which proceeded to use his mask to deflect the Leaf Storm. "Who is that Pokemon?" Ash asked as he got out his Pokedex.

**Yamask, the Spirit Pokémon. Yamask is a ****Ghost-type** **Pokémon that wanders the ruins of ancient civilizations. **

"Now, Yamask, use Shadow Ball," James ordered. Yamask did just that, shooting a purple energy ball at Oshawott, knocking him out.

"Oshawott, return," Ash recalled his Oshawott. "Okay, Snivy use Leaf Blade." Snivy complied, hitting Yamask cleanly with her glowing green tail.

"You won't be getting away with this that easily, twerp. Woobat, use Air Slash," Jessie said as she threw out her Pokemon's Pokeball. Woobat proceeded to create a wind buzz saw that hit Snivy and knocked her down.

"Snivy!" Ash grew concerned for his Pokemon. While Snivy was able to get back up, she was in trouble against two opponents. Suddenly, Tepig stood in front of Snivy and Ash, ready to battle. "You wanna help?" Tepig nodded at this. "Okay, Tepig, use Rollout on Woobat. Snivy, use Vine Whip on Yamask." Both Pokemon attacked their targets, hits landing cleanly on Team Rocket's Pokemon, knocking them down.

"Yamask, use Night Shade," James called out.

"Woobat, use Gust," Jessie called out.

Yamask sent out a dark purple energy field while Woobat flapped his wings to create a strong gust of wind, proceeding to hit both of Ash's Pokemon.

"Snivy, use Leaf Blade on Yamask. Tepig, use Ember on Woobat," Ash called out. Both of his Pokemon complied, Snivy hit Yamask with her glowing green tail and Tepig snorted out a small wave of fire embers, hitting their opponents and knocking them out into their trainers. The Team Rocket trio proceeded to drop the sack that was holding Pikachu, who, upon being freed, ran back to Ash, and got enveloped in a hug. "Pikachu! Great to see you are alright. Now, Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Pikachu zapped Team Rocket with a powerful lightning bolt, sending them blasting off again.

"You see, Yamask. This is something that happens quite often," James informed his new Pokemon.

"Yeah, much too often," Meowth snarked.

"Can you please keep quiet? I'm not feeling so great," Jessie said.

"We're blasting off again!" the entire trio said as they blasted off, leaving a twinkle behind.

"Yeah, we won!" Ash cried out in happiness.

"So, Tepig, what do you say you come along with me?" Iris asked of the Fire Pig Pokemon.

Suddenly, Tepig ran up to Ash, looking at him with pleading eyes.

"Um, Ash. I think Tepig wants to go with you," Iris offered, somewhat disappointed that she couldn't have the Pokemon for herself.

"Is that true, Tepig?" Ash asked, being met with a determined nod by the fire type. "Okay, Tepig welcome to the group!" Tepig happily pressed the button on a Pokeball that Ash brought out and entered the ball, successfully being caught in the ball. "Alright, I just caught a Tepig!" Pikachu also gave out an excited cry while Snivy merely gave a shrug.


	12. Meetings New and Old

The next day, Ash was in the Accumula Town Battle Club training his Pokemon for his upcoming gym battle. He was having them practice by striking targets with their attacks. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt. Oshawott, Water Gun. Snivy, Leaf Blade. Tepig, Ember. Pidove, Air Cutter." The Pokemon complied, each shattering their targets with ease. "Great! At this rate, we will win the Striaton City gym battle for sure."

Iris was watching their training from the sidelines, and was impressed with Ash's progress. "Wow, you and your Pokemon are really getting stronger, huh?"

"Yep, we are. The best way we can get stronger now is if I battled against an actual opponent."

"Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but this is a slow day for the battle club, Ash. Barely anyone else is here," Iris explained.

"Aw, man. I was looking forward to battling too," Ash moped. However, he wouldn't be this way for long, as he suddenly had an idea. "Hey Iris. Why don't you borrow some of my Pokemon and battle against me?"

Iris, upon being asked this was fairly excited, even though she did not show it. It had been some time since she had battled and getting the chance to battle again was something she had been looking forward to. "Well, if you really want me to, I guess I can battle," Iris said while trying to play it cool.

Iris and Ash were both on opposite ends of the battlefield, Iris having Snivy and Tepig while Ash had Pikachu, Pidove, and Oshawott. Both were ready to battle each other.

"So, who gets the first move?" asked Ash.

"How about me? It's been a while since I last battled," Iris suggested.

"Okay, then. You get the first move. Ready?"

"Ready. Snivy, use Leaf Storm on Oshawott. Tepig, use Rollout on Pidove." Snivy created a storm of leaves to shoot as Oshawott while Tepig curled up into a ball and rolled towards Pidove.

"Oshawott, use your scalchop to deflect the Leaf Storm. Pidove, fly higher into the air to dodge the Rollout," Ash called out. Both of his Pokemon complied, with Oshawott being able to successfully deflect the Leaf Storm with some difficulty. Pidove, on the other hand was grazed by the Rollout, which had flown into the air thanks to a curved rock on the battlefield. "Pikachu, use Iron Tail on Snivy. Oshawott, use Razor Shell on Tepig. Pidove, use Air Cutter to attack both Pokemon." Each of the three Pokemon complied, preparing their attacks on the opposing team.

"Snivy, use Leaf Blade to counter Iron Tail. Tepig, use Rollout again to avoid Razor Shell and attack Pidove," Iris commanded. Both of the Pokemon obeyed, with Pikachu's tail and Snivy's tail striking each other before they both attacked again, this time their tail moves hitting each other, leaving the two to be quite damaged. Tepig, on the other hand, was hit by the Air Cutter before he could use Rollout again. Just as Oshawott was about to hit Tepig with Razor Shell, Tepig turned into a ball and rolled into Oshawott. After that, Tepig used his Rollout to roll into Pidove, knocking her back into Ash and out of the battle.

"Pidove is unable to battle," Don George made the call.

"So, pretty good, huh Ash?" Iris gloated in excitement at having knocked out one of Ash's Pokemon.

"Just remember, the battle isn't over yet," Ash retorted.

However, before the battle could continue, a strange figure entered the battle arena. She was dressed in strange clothes that were black, white, and blue, and was holding a pamphlet.

"Um, excuse me miss, but there is currently a battle going on," Don George said.

"What I have here is more important than a mere battle. It could change the world as we know it," the girl said, handing Don George a pamphlet. "Be sure to give it to those two that are battling. It would be best if they knew about the dangers of battling as soon as possible."

"Um, okay?" Don George was confused as to what was going on. However, before he could ask the girl what she meant, he turned to see that she had left.

* * *

Outside of the Battle Club, there was a duo of girls not that far off from Ash's age. One had vermillion hair while the other had blue hair and was holding a Piplup.

"So, this is a battle club, Zoey?" the blue haired girl asked.

"Yup. I figured that since we are going to compete in the Accumula Town Contest in a few days, we should train up our Pokemon to be ready for tough opponents. After all, we should also be ready for battle in addition to making our Pokemon look good. Additionally, this is the first year that contests are taking place in Unova. We need to be ready for anything," the girl whose name was Zoey explained.

"Got it. Training time, here we come!" the blue haired girl said.

The duo entered the battle club and, after creating battle club accounts, went into the battling arena. Upon entering the arena, both of the girls immediately saw a familiar face battling.

"Ash!" the blue haired girl cried out, happy to see Ash again.

"Huh?" Ash turned towards the voice only to be met with a familiar face. "Dawn!"

Dawn ran up to Ash, embracing him in a hug, being sure to put Piplup down before doing so. Once she let him go, they exchanged a high five. "It's so good to see you again, Ash. What are you doing here?"

"Well, I came here for a vacation with my mom and Professor Oak. But, after some thinking and hearing about there being a league here, I couldn't say no," Ash explained. "What about you, Dawn?"

Well, I was thinking about going to do contests in Hoenn, since they were created there." Dawn started to explain. "But, Zoey came before I left and said that there were going to be contests in Unova for the first time. It took a few years for them to get set up here, but they finally finished setting them up. I couldn't say no to that experience. Plus, I could end up finding some new Pokemon in the process."

"Well, hopefully you do well in your first contest here in Unova, Dawn." Ash wished his friend luck.

"Hey, I just thought of something. Can I travel with you on your journey through the Unova league? We shared plenty of experiences and adventures when we were traveling through Sinnoh and it would be just like old times," Dawn suggested this to Ash.

"Sure thing, Dawn. It would be great to travel with you again," Ash accepted the offer. "So, where is your first contest at, anyway?"

"Luckily, we don't have to go far. It's right here in Accumula Town."

Before the conversation could continue, they were interrupted by Iris and Zoey approaching the duo.

"Hey, Ash. Mind telling me who this girl is?" Iris asked her traveling companion.

"Oh, right. Sorry. Iris, this is Dawn. She is an old friend of mine. Dawn, this girl is Iris. She is a traveling companion that is following me here in the Unova region."

"Nice to meet you, Iris," Dawn held out her hand for a handshake with the new friend.

"Same with you," Iris accepted the handshake.

"Well then, Iris, my name is Zoey. I'm a friend/rival of Dawn's back from the Sinnoh region."

"Nice to meet you," Iris said.

Suddenly, the group was interrupted by Piplup, crying out and wanting to be noticed by the others since he had been forgotten early in the conversation. "Oh, sorry Piplup," Dawn apologized as she picked up her partner, "Iris, this is my starter Pokemon and partner, Piplup."

"Nice to meet you." At this, Axew popped out of Iris's hair and jumped to the ground. "And this is my partner, Axew!" Axew gave out a happy cry.

"An Axew?" Dawn asked, as she never met the Pokemon before. She got out her pink Pokedex and scanned the Pokemon.

**Axew, the Tusk Pokémon. Axew eats berries that it crushes with its tusks. The tusks can sometimes break off, but they grow back.**

"Um, excuse me?" Don George interrupted everyone's greetings. "While you two," referring to Ash and Iris, "Were battling earlier, a strangely dressed girl entered and gave me a pamphlet for you two. I would have given it to you earlier, but you were busy battling and talking with your friends. So here." At this, Don George handed the pamphlet to Ash.

Ash carefully read the entire pamphlet carefully, and was not happy with what he saw. "Team Plasma is holding a rally in thirty minutes!" Ash yelled out.

"Um, Ash, who is Team Plasma?" Dawn asked, not having met the group before.

"Team Plasma is a bunch of jerks that steal Pokemon while claiming that trainers are terrible for Pokemon to have," Iris angrily explained, Axew giving out an angry cry as well. "They tried to steal my Axew not too long ago."

"That sounds terrible!" Zoey responded. "Pokemon and people should be working together to reach greater heights, not separated or stolen. So, what should we do?"

Ash took a minute to think over what they should do. After all, the rally could just be a trap to steal other's Pokemon. On the other hand, if it was a trap, innocent people could lose their Pokemon without their help. After thinking it over, Ash knew what they had to do. "Let's go to this rally."

* * *

When the group arrived at where the rally was being held, they saw that there was a whole group of people waiting for the rally to start. Everyone was curious as to what the rally was about. What did Team Plasma want to do with Pokemon liberation?

Eventually, the rally started and a group of grunts went onto the stage, being led by a man wearing strange robes and with green hair. "Hello. My name is Ghetsis. I represent Team Plasma. Today, I am here to discuss with you the idea of Pokemon liberation. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sure you are all wondering what I mean. After all, Pokemon are our partners at work. They work together with us to reach greater heights. However, what if this only what we assumed was the truth? Pokemon are constantly placed under our command, paraded around like a child's plaything, and overall are hurt by us one way or another. Pokemon are different from us humans. They have great power and potential, much more than us mere humans do. This is why I believe in the idea of Pokemon liberation. Pokemon and humans are claimed to be equal. However, if we actually are equal, then we should act like it. In fact, it appears that some Pokemon are already realizing this truth." At this, Ghetsis moved to the side to show a large screen. On the screen was a few images, those being of Snivy breaking her Pokeball and of Zekrom zapping Ash and Pikachu. "Now, everyone, I end my words here today by asking you to consider the relationship between humans and Pokemon, and what we should do from here. We appreciate your attention. Now have a nice day." At this, the Team Plasma group left in a formation meant to protect Ghetsis from harm.

After Team Plasma left, everyone in the crowd was wondering what to do next, especially after what Ghetsis just said. In the end, the crowd left, leaving Ash, his Pokemon, Iris, Axew, Dawn, Piplup, Zoey, and one other man with green hair, that had a Zorua on his shoulder, to reflect on what was just said.

To put it simply, everyone in Ash's group was unhappy. They were all very close to their own Pokemon and could not accept that it was wrong to have Pokemon. In particular, Snivy and Tepig were unhappy. Snivy was furious that she was being used as propaganda to say that being with a trainer was bad. Team Plasma had soured the moment she left her old trainer and made it a negative memory for her. Tepig, on the other hand, was sad. He wanted to make his trainer happy above all else, and being told that being away from his trainer was what was right didn't suit him at all. Thankfully, Ash noticed this and comforted Tepig, "There, there. Everything is fine. I'm not going to release you, and I don't think it is bad to be with a trainer. Come now. Let's get back to the Pokemon Center. We can meet all of Dawn's Pokemon while we are there."

Before they could leave, however, the man with green hair approached the group. "So, you are the one who met Zekrom, correct?" the man asked, referring to Ash. The Zorua on his shoulder seemed to be curious.

"Um, yes I am. The name's Ash.," Ash responded.

"Um, why do you want to know?" Iris asked.

"I was curious because I just heard your Pokemon talking, Ash," the man answered.

"Wait, Pokemon talking?" Dawn was confused.

"Yeah, what are you talking about?" Zoey was similarly confused.

"Yeah, I'm sorry but I didn't hear them say anything," Ash said.

"Oh, so I guess none of you can understand them, then. How unfortunate. My name is N, and I fight for the freedom of all Pokemon," N said.

"Well, I fight to become a Pokemon Master with my Pokemon's help," Ash explained, with all of his Pokemon giving out cries of agreement with the young Trainer's wishes.

"So you plan to capture Pokemon in Pokeballs and force them to fight. Have you even considered whether or not they would even be happy that way?" N questioned the Trainer's methods. His Zorua nodded in agreement.

"Hold on, aren't you a trainer too?" Zoey questioned.

"Yes, but I fight for Pokemon to be separate from humans. You, Ash. I wish to battle against you so that I can hear more of what your Pokemon say. So, do we have a deal?" N asked the young Trainer.

After a moment of consideration, Ash decided to accept the battle, "We have a deal. Can we do so at the battle club or do you want to do it here?"

"I'll battle here. I'd rather not be associated with a place that encourages Pokemon harming each other. We'll have a three on three battle. The first trainer to have all three of their Pokemon knocked out loses. Both sides can substitute if they wish." N got out a Pokeball and threw it, opening to show a Purrloin. "Purrloin will be my first Pokemon."

"A Purrloin?" Dawn was curious, getting out her Pokedex and scanning the Pokemon.

**Purrloin, the Devious Pokémon. Purrloin fools people into letting their guard down so it can steal their possessions. When angered, it uses its claws to fight back.**

"Well, my first Pokemon will be Tepig," Ash chose, sending out the Fire Pig Pokemon.

"So, according to the Pokedex, Purrloin is a Dark type," Dawn realized.

"Meaning that it's weak against Bug, Fighting, and Fairy type moves," Zoey said.

"Wait, Fairy?" Iris was confused.

"Recently, it was discovered that many Pokemon were actually of a different, new type than was known before. Fairy type is this type," Zoey explained.

"Yeah, my Togekiss is apparently part Fairy type," Dawn admitted.

"Knowing Ash's current team, it's clear that neither side has the advantage," Iris explained. "So, what is Ash going to do?"

"You can have the first attack Ash," N offered.

"Okay then, Tepig, use Tackle," Ash called out, his Tepig rushing towards the Purrloin.

"Dodge it," N countered, the Devious Pokemon jumped out of the way. "Now, use Night Slash." The dark cat had her claw glow with dark black energy surrounding it. Purrloin scored a clean hit, causing a fair amount of damage to the Fire Pig Pokemon.

"Alright, let's use Rollout. Tepig curled up into a ball and rolled towards the dark cat, scoring a hit that dealt quite a bit of damage.

"Be careful Purrloin," N warned his Pokemon. As he said this, Tepig rolled back towards Purrloin. "He's coming back. Quick, use Dark Pulse on Tepig to stop the attack. The Devious Pokemon shot a beam of dark energy at the pig, which just barely stopped Rollout from hitting Purrloin.

"Tepig, you OK?" Tepig nodded in agreement, ready to continue battling. "Perfect, now use Ember." The Fire Pig Pokemon sent out a flurry of embers from his snout towards the dark cat.

"Purrloin, use Assist," N called out for Purrloin to do. Suddenly, one of her paws was glowing white and, out of the attack came a Thunderbolt. The Thunderbolt went right through the Ember, striking Tepig for major damage.

"Tepig, can you still battle?" Tepig nodded in response to his trainer's question. "Alright, then use Ember once again." The Fire Pig Pokemon shot out a flurry of embers once again.

"Purrloin, use Play Rough," the dark cat rushed to attack Tepig. However, the attack was interrupted by Ember which proceeded to hit Purrloin for massive damage, knocking her out. "Purrloin return." N recalled the Pokemon. "Get a good rest, my friend. Ash, you've done well so far. However, I cannot allow you to win so easily. So, Patrat, come out and help, my friend." N threw out a Pokeball, which held a Patrat.

"A Patrat?" Dawn asked.

"They are a fairly common normal type in the Unova region," explained Iris. "But why does N have one? They aren't particularly strong."

"Okay, Tepig, let's use Rollout on Patrat," Ash called out, with Tepig using Rollout to roll towards Patrat.

"Patrat, use Super Fang," N called out in turn, the Scout Pokemon latching onto the rolling pig. Patrat, however, was damaged by Rollout before his attack harmed the Fire Pig. "Now, use Zen Headbutt." Following weakening the Tepig, Patrat rushed into him with a pink aura surrounding his head. Tepig tried to get out of the way, only to be hit by the attack and knocked out.

Tepig looked down, sad that he had lost. Ash tried to comfort the Fire Pig Pokemon. "Hey, it's okay, you did your best. Tepig, return. You get a good rest." At this, Ash turned his attention toward N. "I have to admit, this battle has been fun so far. But, you'll find that I'll be the winner in the end. Snivy, I choose you," Ash called out for the grass snake, who proceeded to walk forward to battle, giving a shrug all the while. "Okay, Snivy, let's use Vine Whip." Snivy complied, summoning a vine whip to strike the Patrat.

"Counter with Super Fang," N called out, the teeth on the Pokemon hitting Snivy and cutting her energy down, though not without causing Patrat damage with her Vine Whip. "Now, use Zen Headbutt."

"Snivy, counter it with Leaf Blade," Ash called out in turn. Snivy's glowing green tail hit against Patrat's Zen Headbutt, causing both attacks to cancel each other out. "Now, use Leaf Storm." Snivy created a swarm of leaves, which proceeded to rush to Patrat.

"Patrat, use Thunderbolt to block it," both attacks striked each other, with a much smaller Leaf Storm being left over to hit Patrat. "It's about time we wrapped this up. Patrat, use Zen Headbutt." Patrat rushed to strike Snivy with his glowing pink head.

"Snivy, use Attract," Ash called out. Snivy created a flurry of hearts that proceeded to hit Patrat, causing the Patrat to become infatuated with Snivy. "Okay, now use Leaf Blade." Snivy struck the Scout Pokemon with her glowing green tail, knocking Patrat out.

"Patrat, return," Patrat was returned to his Pokeball. "I have to admit, you are a very strong trainer for someone who has been in Unova for such a short time. You have my respect. However, I still can't let you win. Zorua, help, my friend." At this, Zorua jumped off of N's shoulder, ready to battle.

"Let's wrap this up, Snivy. Use Attract," Snivy sent out a flurry of hearts that proceeded to hit Zorua. However, unlike with Patrat, the move failed to infatuate Zorua. "What? But how?"

"Ash, you can't just blindly do Attract and expect it to always work," Iris cried out in annoyance at the young trainer's rashness.

"You see, Attract only works on Pokemon of the opposite gender. My guess is that your Snivy is female, since my Zorua is also a female. Now, Zorua, use Shadow Ball." Zorua proceeded to strike with a purple energy ball, which hit the weakened Snivy.

"Snivy, are you okay?" Snivy nodded. "Well, since Attract won't work, we'll just have to do this the old fashioned way. Snivy, use Vine Whip." Snivy struck the Zorua with her Vine Whip. "Good, now use Leaf Storm!" Snivy created a large amount of leaves, which she proceeded to launch at the Zorua.

"Zorua, use Shadow Ball," N called out. The two attacks proceeded to strike, both having equal power and creating a smoke veil across the battlefield. "Now, use Fury Swipes." Before Snivy could react, Zorus rushed towards Snivy and slashed at the Snivy constantly, causing a fair amount of damage to the weakened Pokemon, knocking out Snivy.

"Snivy return. You get a good rest." Ash recalled Snivy. "Now, Pikachu, you ready to battle?" Pikachu gave a nod in agreement, rushing away from the Pokemon group and in front of Ash, ready to battle with his trainer. "So, N, it's down to our primary Pokemon then, huh?"

"I don't like to think of it that way. Zorua may be my first Pokemon, but she is still one of many Pokemon friends that is beautiful in many ways. Now, Zorua, attack with Fury Swipes."

"Pikachu, dodge it!" Pikachu kept jumping backwards, avoiding each and every single one of the Fury Swipes as he did so. "Great job. Now, let's use Thunderbolt." Pikachu created a strong volt of electricity that hit towards the Zorua.

"Zorua, Extrasensory," N called out. Zorua's eyes glowed blue, creating a psychic field in front of her that proceeded to deflect most of the Thunderbolt. Though, some of the attack did hit Zorua. "Zorua, Shadow Ball." Zorua proceeded to create a dark energy ball.

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail on Shadow Ball" Pikachu's Tail glowed white, preparing to hit Shadow Ball when it arrived. When Shadow Ball got in range, Pikachu deflected it back at Zorua, causing some damage. "Now, use Quick Attack." Pikachu proceeded to dash quickly towards Zorua. However, for some reason, Zorua remained undeterred.

"Zorua, Extrasensory." Zorua's eyes glowed blue yet again, catching Pikachu and causing some damage before Quick Attack could hit. "Now, use Fury Swipes." Zorua proceeded to attack with several quick Swipes of her claws.

"Pikachu! Quick, escape with Thunderbolt!" Ash cried out. In an instant, Pikachu shot out a powerful bolt of lightning that proceeded to cause major damage to Zorua, enough for her to let him go. "Now, use Iron Tail." Pikachu's tail started to glow again and striked the weakened Zorua.

"Zorua, quick, use Fury Swipes to counter!" Zorua used Fury Swipes in order to constantly intercept the Iron Tail.

"Okay, let's wrap this up. Pikachu, use Volt Tackle." Pikachu rushed towards Zorua, surrounded by a large amount of electricity as he did so.

"Zorua, quick, use Shadow Ball," N ordered. The ball of ghostly energy prepared to hit Pikachu. However, before the attack could finish, Pikachu hit with Volt Tackle, which hit the Shadow Ball. A huge explosion with a lot of smoke was created by the attacks colliding. When the smoke cleared, both Zorua and Pikachu were knocked out.

"So, we tied then. Interesting. Come on Zorua, let's go." N walked up to Zorua and picked her up, while Ash did the same with Pikachu. "It was an interesting experience getting to battle you, I'll say that. Hopefully, someday you and your friends will understand my views and join me. But, until then," at this, N got out Purrloin's Pokeball and Patrat's Pokeball and released them. "You two are free to go. Farewell, my friends."

Ash grunted in disgust at the action. "Hey, what did you do that for?! They didn't do anything wrong!"

"Yeah. the two did great at battling!" Iris mirrored the sentiments.

"That they did. However, Pokemon are beings with plenty of potential. Too much potential to be restricted to Pokeballs and a Trainer. Goodbye, you guys."

As N left, he was given plenty of glares by all of the Trainers and Pokemon present. It seemed that, at this rate no one would understand N or his views, and likely not be friends with him either.


	13. Pachirisu Versus Glameow

After Ash's battle with N, he and his friends went to the Pokemon Center so that he could make sure his Pokemon were fine. After getting a clean bill of health from the Pokemon nurse, Ash decided it was time for Dawn's Pokemon and Ash's new Pokemon to meet.

"Come on out everyone," Ash called out, as he threw the other four of his Pokemon's Pokeballs, releasing to show Snivy, Tepig, Oshawott, and Pidove.

"Okay, everyone, time to meet some new friends," Dawn called out as she threw her remaining Pokemon's Pokeballs. The Pokeballs opened to show Buneary, Pachirisu, Mamoswine, Quilava, and Togekiss.

"Wow Dawn. Your Cyndaquill evolved into a Quilava," Ash responded, surprised at the change in her Pokemon.

"Yep. Happened just before I left Twinleaf Town," Dawn explained.

"So, these are your other Pokemon Dawn?" Iris asked.

"Yep. Got them all during my time in the Sinnoh region," Dawn answered.

While the trainers were talking with each other, the Pokemon spent some time in order to get to know each other. Tepig quickly made friends with Quilava, due to their shared status as their team's Fire types. Mamoswine and Snivy found some quick similarities as their team's powerhouses and their more antisocial personalities. Buneary was quick to search for and find Pikachu. Upon finding him, she proceeded to cuddle up next to him, much to the discomfort of Pikachu and the dismay of Oshawott. Piplup was curious as to what Oshawott's scalchop was. In fact, he grabbed it off of Oshawott and put it on his beak. Oshawott was quick to snatch it back only for it to be stolen again, this time by Pachirisu, who decided to kick it like a soccer ball as he believed it to be a toy. Oshawott was quick to run for his scalchop, much to the confusion of Pachirisu.

"Well, not that this isn't fun, but I need to get in a bit of training before the Contest tomorrow," Zoey said as she was leaving the front room of the Pokemon Center for the training yard out back.

"Contest? Oh, right. The Pokemon Contest," Iris remembered. "The winner gets a ribbon, right?"

"Right. And the ones who get five ribbons go on to the Grand Festival," Dawn explained.

"Yep, and right now I need to practice," Zoey finished as she went to the training yard, with Dawn and company following after her.\

* * *

"Glameow, curtain!" Zoey sent out her Glameow. "Now, Glameow, use Thunderbolt." Glameow complied, sending out a powerful bolt of lightning into the sky. "Now, use Iron Tail to launch yourself into the sky." Glameow's tail glowed as she extended her tail and slammed it into the ground, launching herself into the sky. "Now, finish it up with Shadow Claw on the Thunderbolt!" Glameow's left front paw was surrounded with ghoulish energy. Upon getting to the Thunderbolt, the Shadow Claw sliced the Thunderbolt, creating streams of light and dark light in the sky. Everyone present was impressed with the display, which was shown by everyone applauding the series of moves.

"That was beautiful, Zoey," Dawn said in awe. "You're going to do well tomorrow. I just know it."

"Thanks, Dawn. But it really wasn't that special. I could definitely have done better, to be honest," Zoey responded, being humble and practical with her training.

"Well I have to say, for someone who has never seen a Contest before, that was fairly impressive," Iris complimented.

"Trust me, you will be seeing plenty of impressive showcases tomorrow," Dawn said.

"So, how do the Contests work, anyway?" Iris asked out of curiosity.

"You see, there are two rounds in any Pokemon Contest. The first round is the Appeal round, where you need to do your best to impress the judges with your Pokemon and their moves," Zoey explained.

"The second round is the battle round, where you need to make your Pokemon look good while battling another Pokemon. You start off with a set amount of points and you have five minutes to lower your opponent's points. Whoever has the most points at the end of the five minutes wins," Dawn finished the explanation.

"Yep, that's how it goes. It's much trickier than you would expect it to be, and you shouldn't expect to win your first contest," Ash added on.

"Right, and tomorrow is my first Unova Contest. I can't wait!" Dawn said excitedly.

* * *

"Greetings and a warm welcome to Coordinators and contest fans of all ages! We've all come together for one very special reason. And that is to find out who will take home this Accumula Town Contest Ribbon! We are coming at you live and on stage from the new stadium in Accumula Town," Maron, the master of ceremonies began. "Many of you are likely new to contests in the Unova region. Well, the winner of this Contest will be able to obtain this Accumula Town ribbon," Maron said as she lifted up a pink and white striped ribbon connected to a gold colored metal piece. "Whoever wins five ribbons will be able to compete in our Grand Festival. The winner of that will become one of many Top Coordinators. Now, to introduce our judges we have the head of the judging committee and Pokemon Contest director, Mister Contesta!" Maron gestured towards a man in a red and white suit.

"Thank you!" Mister Contesta said, "I look forward to seeing some real teamwork between Coordinators and their Pokemon!"

"And now the head of the Pokemon Fan Club, Mr. Sukizo!" Maron introduced.

"Remarkable is the word. Thanks!" Mr. Sukizo greeted.

"And finally, Accumula Town's own Nurse Joy!"

"Wow! When it comes to seeing all the splendid Pokemon I can't wait!" Nurse Joy introduced herself.

"As for me, I am Maron, the master of ceremonies and thank you so much for coming here!" Meanwhile, in the crowd, Ash and Iris were in the crowd, ready to cheer on both Dawn and Zoey. Pikachu was wearing a kimono while most of Dawn's other Pokemon were wearing cheerleader outfits, except for Pachirisu and Quilava, who were absent, and Piplup who was wearing a special male cheerleader outfit. "Now, we begin our first round by heading on over to the appeal stage. Here we will see many performances between Coordinator and Pokemon that will show off the Pokemon's power and beauty. Now, for our first contestant we have Dawn from Twinleaf Town all the way in the Sinnoh region!"

At this, Dawn, who was wearing her contest dress from back in Sinnoh, appeared on the stage. "Quilava, spotlight!" Quilava burst out of his Pokeball surrounded by many colorful bits of confetti, courtesy of the ball capsule that Dawn's Pokeball was in. "Alright, Quilava, use Eruption," Quilava complied creating a powerful flame burst from the top of his head, burning the remaining confetti and leaving behind an array of colorful smoke puffs.

"Wow. Dawn used the confetti from her ball capsule to create a stunning display!" Maron announced.

"Now, Quilava, use Swift around yourself," Dawn commanded. Quilava created an array of stars surrounding himself with a spiral of stars. "Now, finish up with Flame Wheel into the Swift!" Quilava curled up into a wheel before being engulfed in flames. He then proceeded to roll into the Swift, creating an array of sparkles from a combination of both attacks. Afterwards, Dawn and Quilava both graciously bowed.

"Well, it looks like Quilava used his own attacks to come up with a way to create a dazzling display. Now, we go to our judges for their thoughts," Maron gestured to the trio of judges.

"What a beautiful display," Mr. Contesta said.

"Truly remarkable," Mr. Sukizo complimented.

"I never would have thought that a fire type would have come up with so many unique ways to create such a display of beauty and power," Nurse Joy congratulated.

"Well, you heard it here, folks. We will now go onto our next contestant…" Maron gestured.

* * *

As most of the other Coordinators showed off their Pokemon, whether it be Unovan Pokemon or Pokemon that came from other regions, Dawn was nervously waiting for the results of the first round.

"No need to worry, Dawn," Dawn was whispering to herself. "The judges loved it, and so did the audience. You will be going on to the next round, I know it."

"Hey, don't worry, Dawn," Zoey tried to comfort her friend and rival. "You did great during the appeal round. You also did a good job at showing off your Quilava. You should be proud."

"I know. It's just a bit nerve wracking, is all," Dawn simply accepted the help. "You fail to get past the appeal round twice in a row and the pressure never really goes away completely."

Before Zoey could say anything in response to this, she was called out to do her appeal. "My turn, Dawn. See you after it's over."

* * *

"Next up, we have a Top Coordinator in our ranks with Snowpoint City's own Zoey!" Maron announced.

"Alright, Leafeon, curtain!" Zoey released her powerful eevolution with a swarm of leaves following her. "Leafeon, use Double Team and go to the corners of the field!" Leafeon created several copies of herself, each going to separate corners of the field. "Now, use Magical Leaf and launch it into the sky!" Leafeon complied, with each copy launching a swarm of leaves into the sky. "Now, wrap it up with an Energy Ball into the sky!" Leafeon complied, the balls of energy creating a sparkling green thorny star in the sky upon hitting the Magical Leaves. Both Zoey and Leafeon bowed in response to the applause of the audience.

"Wow, the crowd is absolutely wild for Zoey and her Leafeon. But let's see what our judges think of this performance," Maron gestured toward the trio of judges.

"What a way to display the beauty and power of grass types," Mr. Contesta said.

"What a remarkable display," Mr. Sukizo added on.

"What a show! Worthy of a competitor that was a past Grand Festival winner," Nurse Joy concluded.

"Well, you heard it here, folks. Now, seeing as how that was our last Coordinator, our judges will now do their thing and decide who among our many competitors will be going on to the next round!" Maron announced.

* * *

Backstage, Ash and Iris went backstage in order to congratulate Dawn on her performance.

"Dawn, that was awesome!" Ash said, with Pikachu giving an affirmative cry.

"Yeah! At this rate, you are going to win the whole thing," Iris congratulated Dawn with Axew giving a cry of agreement.

"Thanks you guys, but I have to make it to the next round first," Dawn graciously accepted the encouragement, most of her nervousness having washed away.

"We'll both make it," Zoey reassured. "After all, we still need to have our rematch battle after all."

At this, Maron from onstage interrupted the conversation, "Now, the judges have voted and now, it is time to see which lucky Coordinators will move on to the next round. And here they are," Maron said, as she showed the eight lucky Coordinators that would move on to the next round, which included Dawn and Zoey.

"We made it! We get to move on to the next round!" Dawn yelled in excitement.

"Good for you guys," Ash said sincerely.

"Yeah. Looks like you guys will get to have that battle after all," Iris said.

The group was interrupted by Maron on the screen. "Now we will randomly shuffle the eight trainers in the computer, to see who would face who in the following rounds. And here they are!" The results were that Dawn and Zoey wouldn't face each other until the finals, provided that they defeated all of their opponents.

"Well, looks like our rematch will have to wait a bit," Zoey said. "See you in the final round, Dawn!"

* * *

Having experience as a Coordinator did wonders in a variety of different ways. For example, it meant that you had the upper hand against those that are new to Contests. It was for this reason that Dawn with Pachirisu and Zoey with Glameow were easily able to defeat their opponents in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds and advance to the finals, where they would battle against each other.

"So, it has come down to this. In our Accumula Town Contest's final round we have Dawn from Twinleaf Town and Top Coordinator from Snowpoint City, Zoey! We have five minutes to see which of our two Coordinators will win our Accumula Town Ribbon. And the time starts now!"

"Pachirisu, use Discharge!" Pachirisu complied with Dawn's order, launching a strong bolt of lightning in several different directions.

"Quick, Glameow! Use Thunderbolt!" Glameow launched a powerful bolt of lightning that countered Pachirisu's Discharge, creating many pretty sparkles in the sky.

"Would you look at that? Zoey used her Glameow's Thunderbolt as a counter to Pachirisu's Discharge. What a stunning way to block an attack!" Maron said, as both Dawn and Zoey's points dropped, with Dawn's going lower than Zoey's.

"Pachirisu, use Spark!" Dawn called out, Pachirisu surrounding himself with electricity as he charged towards Glameow.

"Glameow, Shadow Claw!" Zoey commanded. Glameow striked against Pachirisu's Spark, only to be launched back. At this, Zoey's points dropped to the three quarters mark, making Dawn be the one in the lead. "Now Glameow, use Iron Tail!" Glameow's tail glowed white as she rushed to strike Pachirisu.

"Pachirisu, dodge and use Discharge, full power!" Pachirisu dodged the attack with his impressive speed and proceeded to launch a powerful Discharge at Glameow, which proceeded to do a fair amount of damage. Pachirisu's attack lowered Zoey's points to the two thirds mark.

"Glameow, use Fury Swipes!" Glameow rushed at Pachirisu, and constantly swiped at the electric squirrel Pokemon, causing a fair amount of damage, lowering Dawn's points to the two thirds mark.

"Pachirisu, use Discharge!" Dawn called out. Pachirisu complied, launching a strong bolt of electricity in multiple different directions.

"Glameow, counter with Shadow Claw!" Zoey countered. Glameow's Shadow Claw striked the Discharge, creating a stream of light and dark colors.

"Would you look at that? Glameow is using her opponent's attack to create a beautiful array of colors!" Maron announced, as Dawn's points went to below half, with only two minutes remaining.

"Oh, no. This isn't good." Dawn was worried about losing the Contest. "I need to find a way to turn things around. Wait, that's it. Pachirisu, use Super Fang!" Pachirisu's teeth grew larger and sharper as he rushed to and bit Glameow, lowering Zoey's points by a small amount. "Now, use Spark!" Pachirisu rushed toward Glameow with a large amount of electricity surrounding him.

"Glameow, use Iron Tail to protect yourself from Spark!" Zoey called out for Glameow as a counter for Spark. Glameow hit Pachirisu's Spark, which failed to protect her from Pachirisu's Spark, causing a fair amount of damage and lowering Zoey's points to below half. "Alright, Glameow, use Thunderbolt!" Glameow attacked with a powerful bolt of lightning that proceeded to get close to Pachirisu.

"Pachirisu, take the attack!" Dawn hesitantly called out for Pachirisu to do. Pachirisu took the attack head on, which resulted in Dawn's points falling to the one quarter mark.

"Dawn's orders sure are strange," Maron commented, "No idea why she would let her Pokemon take an attack like this."

"Okay, let's wrap this up! Glameow, use Thunderbolt!" Glameow launched another bolt of powerful lightning out towards Pachirisu.

"Pachirisu, counter with Discharge!" Pachirisu launched a powerful bolt of lightning in multiple different directions, ultimately hitting Glameow's Thunderbolt. At first, the attacks were even. However, after a few seconds, Pachirisu's Discharge overpowered Glameow's Thunderbolt, hitting Glameow and lowering Zoey's points to less than one quarter, lower than Dawn's points. Before the battle could continue, the five minutes had ended.

"Times up. And the winner of the Accumula Town Contest is Dawn!" Maron announced.

"We won? We won! We got our first Unova ribbon!" Dawn cheered.

Glameow looked a bit sad at having lost the battle. However, Zoey was quick to comfort her, saying that they would win next time.

* * *

"Now to present our Accumula Town ribbon is Mr. Contesta!" Maron said, as Dawn graciously accepted the ribbon.

"Yes! I got an Accumula Town ribbon!" Dawn cried out in joy, her Quilava and Pachirisu echoing the sentiment.

* * *

"You sure you don't want to keep traveling with me, Dawn?" Zoey asked Dawn later that evening.

"Naw, I'm fine. Besides, I need to cheer on Ash during his first Gym Battle," Dawn explained. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to take a short break from contests. After that, I'll be back in it and winning in no time!"

"Sounds great! See you soon!" Dawn cried out as Zoey walked away to a different town.

Dawn was brimming full of excitement after winning her first Unova ribbon. Hopefully, the same result could be said for Ash and his Gym battle.


	14. Minccino-Neat and Tidy!

The day after the Accumula Town Contest, Ash was excited to leave the town for Striaton City so that he could finally obtain his first Gym Badge. Dawn, who was still excited about her first Contest win, was ready to go with Ash to Striaton City and hopefully find out where the next Contest was. Iris was also ready to go with them in order to not have to worry about her lack of Pokemon.

As the three were ready to leave town, they were suddenly interrupted by a blonde girl wearing an orange and white outfit with a green hat running toward the trio. Iris dodged out of the way in time, while Dawn and her Piplup barely missed the girl. Ash and Pikachu, on the other hand, were knocked into a nearby fountain. "So sorry about that," the girl apologized. "You see, I'm on an errand for Professor Juniper. She wanted me to deliver a badge case for Ash Ketchum. Have you seen anyone by that name?"

Ash and Pikachu climbed out of the fountain, as Ash introduced himself, "That would be me. What's this about a badge case?"

"Well, it may be easier to just show you," Bianca gestured to her Xtransceiver on her wrist and turned it on. Professor Juniper appeared on the small screen.

"Well, I must say it is taking you a bit more time than I expected for you to reach Striaton City," Professor Juniper said. "Though, perhaps it is better this way. You see, I forgot to give you your badge case back at my lab, so I asked Bianca here to deliver it for me."

"Wow!" Dawn muttered in awe, impressed with the small bit of tech that was similar to her Poketch, but could call other people. "So, you must be Professor Juniper."

"Yeah, that would be me. Who are you, my dear?" Professor Juniper asked Dawn.

"My name is Dawn. I'm a friend of Ash's and I am aiming to be a Top Coordinator in the Unova region!" Dawn said with pride in her voice.

"So you are a Contest Coordinator then, huh? Well, all Trainers have their own paths and this one is all yours. Good luck in your future Contests, Dawn. And Ash, good luck with your Striaton City Gym battle." At this, Professor Juniper hung up, leaving the blonde girl to give Ash his badge case.

"Oh, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Bianca," Bianca introduced herself.

"My name is Dawn," Dawn said as Piplup also greeted himself with a cry.

"I'm Iris. Nice to meet you," Iris greeted, with Axew giving a cry of greeting.

"Well, let's see Ash your badge case should be somewhere in this bag," Bianca gestured to her bag. She spent a good minute searching through her bag, which was cluttered with many different objects that were all fairly dusty. Eventually, Bianca dug out the badge case and gave it to Ash. "Here you are."

"Thanks Bianca. Man, once I get my first badge, it is going right in this case," Ash was excited at the prospect of earning his first badge. However, before Ash could put away the dusty badge case, it was suddenly snatched by a gray Chinchilla Pokémon. The Pokemon proceeded to run away with the case and into the forest.

"Hey! That Pokemon stole my badge case!" Ash ran after the Pokemon, with Iris, Dawn, and Bianca following after him.

The chase lasted for a good few minutes until they found the Minccino. The Pokemon proceeded to use his tail to clean the badge case, which they saw from their hiding spot in the bushes..

"You guys, it's a Minccino!" Iris loudly whispered to the others, Axew giving a cry of agreement.

"A Minccino?" Dawn and Ash were curious as to what this new Pokemon was, though Bianca beat them to the punch at getting out her Pokedex.

**Minccino, the Chinchilla Pokémon. Minccino loves shiny things and will use its tail as a brush to clean any objects that are dirty.**

"Man, isn't Minccino cute?! I want it!" Dawn cried out in joy.

"I know, right? I'm going to catch it!" Bianca mirrored the sentiment.

"Hey, can we remember to get my badge case back too?" Ash said to his annoyance, with Pikachu giving a cry of agreement.

"Don't worry. Once I catch Minccino, I'll be able to get you your badge case back!" Bianca cried out before she got out of the bushes and challenged the Minccino. "Okay, Pignite, come on out now!" The Pokeball opened to show a Pokemon that looked similar to Tepig except bigger and on two legs.

"A Pignite? Ash got out his Pokedex and scanned the Pokemon.

**Pignite, the Fire Pig Pokémon and the evolved form of Tepig. Pignite's food converts into fuel for the flame that burns in its stomach, and when fuel burns in its stomach, its speed increases.**

"Now Pignite, use Flame Charge!" Bianca called out to the Fire Pig Pokemon. After a few stomps, Pignite rushed forward while being surrounded with flames, hitting the Chinchilla Pokemon straight away. "Great! Now use Flamethrower!" A stream of fire burst out of Pignite's snout and at the Minccino. However, the Minccino simply jumped over the flame. "Now Pignite, use Take Down!" Pignite complied, trying to rush at the Minccino while surrounded with a yellow barrier. However, Minccino simply jumped out of the way. Before Bianca could call another attack, Minccino rolled up his ears and proceeded to let out a strong sound wave attack from his mouth that proceeded to knock back Pignite.

"Looks like Minccino knows Hyper Voice!" Dawn yelled out as she and Piplup were covering their ears, with Piplup giving an affirmative cry.

"Yeah, I know!" Ash yelled, as he and Pikachu were also covering their ears.

As suddenly as the attack came, it was gone as Minccino rushed up to Pignite and proceeded to tickle him, using the move Tickle.

"Now what is Minccino doing?" Dawn asked.

"I think Minccino is using Tickle," Ash responded.

"No, no, NO!" Bianca yelled out in frustration. "Pignite, return!" Pignite was recalled to his Pokeball, much to the confusion of Minccino.

"I know what to do!" Dawn cried out. "Buneary, lets go." Buneary sent out Buneary to battle the Chinchilla Pokemon. "Buneary, use Ice Beam!" Buneary complied, sending out a light blue array of beams out at Minccino, freezing Minccino in place at the ground. "Now, use Dizzy Punch!" Buneary proceeded to hit the Pokemon with punch after punch, weakening the Minccino a fair bit. "Now, finish it up with Bounce!" Buneary jumped up high into the air, ready to fall down onto the Minccino. However, Minccino managed to break free from the ice and sent out a swarm of hearts, an Attract, to Buneary. The move hit, leaving the bunny to be attracted to Minccino. "Okay, Buneary return." Dawn recalled the Rabbit Pokemon. "And here I thought I could actually catch that Pokemon myself. Oh well."

"Alright, looks like it's our turn now, Pikachu!" Ash called out. However, before he could get ready to fight, Oshawott popped out of his Pokeball, ready to battle. "Um, okay? Do you want to battle, Oshawott?" Oshawott nodded. "Okay then. Let's do this. Oshawott, use Water Gun!" Oshawott shot out a stream of water at Minccino, only for the attack to be dodged by the Chinchilla Pokemon.

"Okay, Oshawott. Use Hydro Pump!" Bianca called out for the sea otter Pokemon to do, only for Oshawott to freak out as he did not know the move at all. "Huh? Why isn't it using Hydro Pump?"

"It's because he cannot use that move. Oshawott, use Razor Shell!" Ash called out. Oshawott grabbed his scalchop off of his belly and proceeded to try and slice the Minccino. However, Minccino jumped out of the way. Following this, Minccino used Tickle on Oshawott to stop Oshawott from attacking him. "Oshawott, use Water Gun to get Minccino off of you." Oshawott complied, managing to get Minccino to cease using Tickle. "Okay, now use Tackle!" Ash called out. Oshawott dashed towards Minccinio, only for the attack to be dodged gracefully. Minccino proceeded to use Double Slap on Oshawott, knocking out Oshawott. Minccino proceeded to grab the badge case for further cleaning and then left the area.

* * *

"Man, that could have gone a lot better," Ash moaned in disappointment.

"Yeah, it could have," Iris said, Axew agreed with her with a cry.

"So much for getting a new Pokemon, right?" Dawn groaned in sadness.

"Yeah, but what are we going to do about Ash's badge case?" Bianca said.

"We'll just have to get another one," Iris suggested.

"Or I can carry them in my jacket," Ash said.

The four of them had just arrived at the Pokemon Center when they were having this conversation. The four of them were unhappy as a result of the Minccino getting away. They all stewed in their negative thoughts about the situation while Nurse Joy took a look at their Pokemon.

"Man, why did that Minccino have to be so strong, anyway?" Ash groaned.

"Excuse me, but your Pokemon are all looking healthy." Nurse Joy said as she had finished her examination of the group's Pokemon. "Also, did I hear right that this was all caused by a Minccino?"

"Um, yes Nurse Joy. A wild Minccino had stolen Ash's badge case and we tried to fight to catch it and get back the case," Bianca explained.

"Well, to tell you the truth, that Minccino wasn't always wild. It belonged to a trainer just a few days ago," Nurse Joy revealed, much to the shock of all that were present. "Yeah. Two days ago, I saw a trainer release that poor Minccino. When I tried to convince them to not do so, the trainer said something about not wanting to enslave any Pokemon and that they were just doing what was right, according to Team Plasma. I was going to take the poor dear in, but Minccino ran off before I could offer any help. Since then, I've heard many people complain about having their items stolen by a Minccino. To most it likely just seems like a case of bad luck, but to me it shows how lonely the Pokemon likely is. I think Minccino is indeed after objects to clean them, but I also think that it wants to feel connected to someone again."

After Nurse Joy finished her story, the group was all teary eyed.

"I can't believe it," Iris muttered out.

"Me neither. Man, I thought that Team Plasma was bad before, but this just makes everything worse!" Ash bitterly said.

"Now I want to give the poor dear a hug," Bianca sobbed.

"I know. We need to catch that Minccino before things get any worse," Dawn said, with Piplup giving an affirmative cry.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get going!" Ash cried out.

* * *

Ash, Dawn, Iris, and Bianca all went back into the forest to look for Minccino. They searched for a good thirty minutes but had no luck in finding the Chinchilla Pokemon. Eventually, Bianca decided that the best way to get Minccino to come would be to leave behind something that is dirty for Minccino to clean.

"You see, if we leave something for Minccino to clean, it's likely to come to us," Bianca said.

"But, what do we have that is dirty?" Ash asked.

"Actually, Ash, we don't need to get something that is dirty. We just need to take an object and make it dirty," Iris retorted.

"Actually, I may have just the thing," Dawn interrupted as she got out an old, orange ribbon from her bag, much to Piplup and Ash's shock.

"Your mom's first ribbon? But Dawn, that means so much to you," Ash worriedly said.

"I know, but it is already dirty and who knows? Maybe it can help convince Minccino to give another human a chance once he understands the meaning behind it," Dawn responded.

"Well, okay."

The group set up the ribbon on the ground and waited. It took a good five minutes, but eventually Minccino arrived. He carefully inspected the ribbon until he grabbed the ribbon in his mouth and left with it.

"Okay, follow that Pokemon!" Bianca cried out.

The group were quick to follow Minccino, and after a few minutes found Minccino's nest in a tree. Even though the Minccino was only a wild Pokemon for a few days, he had already obtained a vast variety of objects from the remains of berries and fruit to whistles to cups. From the bushes, the group couldn't help but notice that Minccino looked a little bit sad as he settled into his nest of objects with the ribbon as a new addition.

"Alright, let's get everyone their stuff back!" Ash called out, getting Minccino's attention. Minccino proceeded to climb out of the tree and prepared to battle Ash. "Okay, Snivy, I choose you!" Ash threw Snivy's Pokeball, opening to send out the grass snake, who proceeded to shrug upon being released.

"Wow. Ash sure does have a lot of interesting Pokemon. I'm surprised that he doesn't have any badges yet. I mean, I have one badge myself and am going to get a second one myself in Striaton City," Bianca explained her current situation.

"Wow, you already have a badge?' Iris asked, with Axew popping out of her hair, also curious.

"By the way, Bianca. What other Pokemon do you currently have?" Dawn wanted to know.

"Only Pignite," Bianca answered, only for both girls and their Pokemon to fall to the ground in response to the revelation. "You see, I haven't been on my journey for very long. My dad is very overprotective and doesn't want me to travel and everything."

"Yeah, sounds like a very overprotective father. He seems to treat you like a little girl," Dawn responded.

"Or a princess," Iris said.

Meanwhile, Ash was about to battle Minccino. "Alright, let's get this over with quickly. Snivy, use Attract!" Ash called out. Snivy sent out a flurry of hearts with a wink, planning to immobilize Minccino with one move. However, Minccino dodged the flurry of hearts and sent out an Attract of his own, which hit Snivy and had her immobilized by love. "Oh man. Snivy, return." Ash recalled Snivy and then turned to Pikachu. "Pikachu, you're up!" Pikachu gave out a cry as he jumped off of Ash's shoulder ready to battle.

"That's good. Since Pikachu and Minccino are both boys, we won't have to worry about Attract," Iris said.

"Won't be long now," Dawn said.

"Okay, Pikachu use Thunderbolt!" Ash called out, Pikachu sending out a powerful bolt of lightning at Minccino, which Minccino was able to dodge. Minccino responded by running away. "Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Pikachu dashed after Minccino, being able to keep up with Minccino's speed with ease. "Now, use Iron Tail!" Pikachu's tail glowed white as he hit Minccino. "Now, use multiple Iron Tails!" This time, however, Minccino was ready, using Double Slap to counter each and every single Iron Tail. Minccino decided to fight back with Tickle on Pikachu, which proceeded to immobilize Pikachu. Minccino proceeded to jump backwards and use Hyper Voice on Pikachu, knocking Pikachu back a fair distance. After all the battling, however, Minccino was starting to get tired. "Okay Pikachu, let's wrap this up with a Thunderbolt!" Pikachu launched another bolt of lightning at Minccino, this time hitting the Chinchilla Pokemon and knocking him out. "Yes, we did it Pikachu!" Ash and Pikachu hugged each other. "Now, let's get back all of the stolen stuff, starting with my badge case."

As Ash climbed into the tree to get everything in it, Bianca and Dawn were both busy. Bianca was trying to find a Pokeball to catch the weakened Minccino while Dawn approached the weakened Pokemon to talk to him.

"Minccino?" the weakened Pokemon looked up at Dawn, somewhat intimidated by the girl. "You know, I bet you feel sad and lost right now. After all, you just got abandoned by your previous Trainer because of what some silly and mean people said. But know this, things will get better soon. You see, that ribbon you took from me was a good luck charm for my future in Contests as a Coordinator. However, recently, I also have started to see it as a beacon of hope. As long as I have it, things will get better in the future. Same with you. Maybe someday you will find a new trainer that will treat you with the love you deserve. Well, I better help Ash get all the stuff you stole out of that tree."

Just as Dawn finished talking, Minccino, noticing Bianca finding a dirty Pokeball, went to her and pressed the button on it as he started to clean it. After a few shakes, the Pokeball closed and Minccino was Bianca's. "No way! I just caught a Minccino!" Bianca cried out in joy.

"Hey guys! I found my badge case!" Ash called down to the girls. Suddenly, Ash lost balance and fell down the tree with badge case in hand. "Ouch!"

* * *

After catching the Minccino, the group returned to the Pokemon Center with all of the non-edible stuff that was in Minccino's nest. In addition, Ash had Pikachu given a brief check up.

"Your Pikachu is doing well. By the way, don't worry about the stuff from Minccino's nest. I'll make sure everything gets returned to their rightful owners," Nurse Joy reassured.

As the group left the Pokemon Center, Bianca was brimming with joy at having caught a new Pokemon. "Man, so this is what it feels like to catch a Pokemon!" Suddenly, Bianca had an idea. "Hey Ash. Would you like to have a battle with me?"

"You bet!" Ash agreed, with the two going to the battlefield out back to have their battle.

"Which Pokemon do you think Bianca will choose?" Dawn asked Iris.

"Well, judging from Bianca's excitement at having caught a new Pokemon, I would say Minccino," Iris responded, with both Axew and Piplup giving cries of agreement.

"Okay, Pignite, let's go!" Bianca threw out her Pokeball, sending out her Pignite, much to the shock of the other two girls and their Pokemon.

"Okay, since Bianca is using a fire type, it would be best to use Osha-,"

"Hey Ash! Send out your Pikachu!" Bianca called out to Ash.

"Huh? You want to battle Pikachu? Well then, let's go Pikachu!" Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder and landed in the battlefield. "Okay then, let's start with Quick Attack!" Pikachu complied, rushing toward Pignite.

"Alright, Pignite, let's use Take Down," Bianca called out. Pignite complied, rushing towards Pikachu while being surrounded with a yellow barrier. The two Pokemon rushed into each other, with Pikachu getting knocked onto his back by the force of Pignite's Take Down, though not without taking recoil damage.

"Pikachu! Are you okay?" Pikachu was quick to get back up. "Good, now let's use Thunderbolt." Pikachu sent out a bolt of lightning that proceeded to strike Pignite.

"Now, Pignite, use Flamethrower!" Pignite let out a stream of fire from his snout.

"Pikachu, dodge it!" Pikachu proceeded to jump over the flames. "Great, now use Iron Tail!" Pikachu's Tail started to glow white as he approached Pignite.

"Pignite, use Heat Crash!" Pignite surrounded himself with a ball of fire and jumped into the air. He then came down hard onto Pikachu, causing a fair amount of damage. "Now, Pignite, let's wrap this up with Flame Charge!" Pignite proceeded to stomp repeatedly before rushing forward while surrounded with flames.

"Pikachu, use Volt Tackle!" Pikachu rushed toward Pignite while being surrounded by electricity. Ultimately, the two attacks collided. When the smoke cleared, Pikachu was still standing while Pignite was left knocked out.

"We won, Pikachu!" Ash and Pikachu hugged each other in victory.

"Pignite, you did well. Now, return and get some rest," Bianca recalled Pignite. "You did great, Ash. So, where do you plan on heading next?"

"I'm going to Striaton City to win my first Gym badge," Ash answered.

"Hey, mind if I tag along? I was planning on going there for my next gym battle," Bianca offered.

"Okay, sure. Is it okay with you guys?" Ash asked Iris, Dawn, and Pikachu. All three of them proceeded to nod in agreement, wanting to travel with their new friend.


	15. A Grass Leader's Assault!

It took a few days of traveling, but eventually Ash and his friends found their way to Striaton City.

"Wow. Striaton City. We're finally here, buddy," Ash excitedly said to his partner Pikachu. "First badge here we come. Now the only question that remains is where is the gym?" At this, Dawn, Iris, and Bianca fell down comically.

"You don't even know where the gym is? Man, you're like a young child," Iris teased as she gave a fruit to Axew, who was in her hair.

"Hey, give me a break. I used to have a friend that would handle the navigation," Ash countered.

"Yeah, be fair guys. I don't really have the best system for navigation either," Bianca tried to defend.

Before the group could continue, a man dressed in a fancy suit and with green hair approached them. "My, my. Is that an Axew that you have with you, my dear?" the man said. He took a closer look at Iris's Axew. "I can tell just from looking that you have a strong bond with your Axew, Miss."

"Um, excuse me, but who are you?" Dawn asked the strange man.

"Oh, where are my manners? My name is Cilan. And I am a Pokemon Connoisseur."

"What?" Ash and Dawn were both confused at the term.

"Man, seriously? You guys don't know what that is?" Iris questioned the duo.

"You see, Pokemon Connoisseurs rate the friendship of a Pokemon with their Trainer," Cilan explained.

At this, Pikachu and Piplup both gave out confused cries, which were noticed by Cilan.

"Wait, do you guys have a Piplup and a Pikachu?!" Cilan's mood brightened. "I'm sorry for not noticing before. They look amazing. It looks as if your bonds with your Pokemon are strong too. Where are you from?"

"I'm Ash from Pallet Town in the Kanto region," Ash answered.

"I'm Dawn from Twinleaf Town in Sinnoh," Dawn also answered.

"That explains both your Pokemon and your lack of knowledge on what a Connoisseur is. They are mostly found in Unova, you see," Cilan explained.

"Hey, what about me and my Pokemon?" Bianca asked, wanting to know what the relationship with her Pokemon was like. "Pignite, Minccino, come on out!" Bianca sent both Pokemon out of their Pokeballs, ready to have them be evaluated by the Connoisseur.

"Hmm, let's see. Your bonds with your Pignite and Minccino are both strong, though your Minccino's bond seems to not be at its max yet. If I'm not mistaken, your Minccino is a new Pokemon," Cilan guessed.

"Wow, you knew that?" Bianca was stunned.

"Um, excuse me," Ash interrupted. "Not that this conversation isn't interesting, but you see Bianca and I were here so that we could have a Gym Battle."

"Oh, right! I almost forgot! I would also like to challenge the Gym" Bianca suddenly remembered.

"Well, don't worry. I happen to know where the Striaton City Gym is. I can take you there if you want," Cilan offered.

"It's a deal," Ash accepted.

* * *

After a few minutes, Ash and his friends found themselves in front of a grand-looking building. Ash entered the building, ready to have a Gym Battle only to find what looked like a restaurant. Cilan, along with two other waiters named Chili, who had red hair, and Cress, who had blue hair, seated Ash and his friends at a table. The trio proceeded to ask Ash and his friends for their order. While Bianca, Iris, and Dawn were interested in getting something, Ash was less on board as he wanted to have his Gym Battle soon as he came here for it. Eventually, Ash called out the brothers for tricking him and that he wanted to have a Gym Battle soon, only for the brothers to reveal that they were the Gym Leaders of the Striaton Gym, opening a wall to show a rocky battlefield. The brothers said that they would be ready to accept challengers and suggested doing so after they eat. When Ash tried to argue, his stomach growled and he agreed to have a meal at the restaurant first.

* * *

"So, which of you two would like to go first?" Cilan asked the two challengers.

"I would," both Bianca and Ash said. "No, me."

"How about we use my Poketch's coin flip feature to decide?" Dawn gestured to the pink Poketch on her wrist.

"Sure," both Bianca and Ash agreed.

Dawn flipped a coin, with it landing on heads, which Bianca called. Therefore, Bianca would get to battle first.

"Alright, so what do we do?" Bianca asked the trio.

"Well, you simply select which of the three of us you want to battle and if you defeat them you win a badge," Cilan explained. "You can challenge me and my Pansage." Cilan sent out his Pansage.

"Me and my Pansear," Chili said as he sent out his Pansear.

"Or me and my Panpour," Cress said as he sent out his Panpour.

"Pansage, Pansear, and Panpour?" Ash and Dawn were curious and got out their Pokedexes to scan the trio of Pokemon.

**Pansage, the Grass Monkey Pokémon. Pansage offers leaves on its head to Pokémon that have low energy. The leaves relieve stress.**

**Pansear, the High Temp Pokémon. Pansear lives in caves near volcanoes. The temperature on the tuft on its head can reach ****600 degrees** **when it's angry.**

**Panpour, the Spray Pokémon. Panpour lived in forests long ago, but developed a body that makes it easy to live near water. It can store water in the tufts on its head.**

"So, who will you challenge? Me, Chili, or Cress?" Cilan asked the girl.

"Well, I guess I will choose you Cilan. I would like to challenge your Pansage," Bianca chose.

"Well, I wish you a good battle," Cress responded as he stepped to the side.

"Same here," Chili echoed the sentiment as he stepped aside.

"Alright, will our referee please come to their place at the arena?" Cilan politely asked.

Soon, a man with black hair that was also wearing a tuxedo came to the outside of the middle of the arena. "The battle between the Gym Leader Cilan and the Challenger Bianca will now get underway. Each trainer will only use one Pokemon. The battle will be over when one trainer's Pokemon is unable to continue."

"Pansage, you're up!" Cilan said as Pansage took his spot on his side of the arena.

"Minccino, you're up too!" Bianca called out as she sent out the Chinchilla Pokemon.

"Wait, Minccino? Why not battle with Pignite?" Dawn was confused.

"Yeah, Pignite would totally have the type advantage," Ash was similarly confused.

"Maybe she wants to test out Minccino against a strong trainer?" Iris suggested as a possibility.

"Ready? Begin!" the referee called out.

"Pansage, use Bullet Seed," Cilan called out, with Pansage shooting out multiple seeds from his mouth at Minccino.

"Minccino, dodge them," Bianca called out for the Chinchilla Pokemon to do. He dodged the attack and was ready to attack. "Minccino, use Tickle." Minccino approached the Grass Monkey Pokemon and started to Tickle the Pokemon, with Pansage trying and failing to refrain from laughing. "Now, use Double Slap!" Minccino attacked Pansage, knocking him back towards his Trainer.

"That was a good call using Tickle before attacking," Iris mentioned.

"In what ways?" Dawn asked.

"You see, Tickle lowers the defenses of the opponent," Iris explained.

"So that would make Pansage more vulnerable to attacks," Ash realized.

"Pansage, use Bite!" Cilan called for the Grass Monkey to do. The Grass Monkey complied, Biting the head of Minccino and causing him a fair amount of pain.

"Minccino, use Attract!" Bianca called out. Minccino used Attract on the Biting Pansage only for it to fail outright. "Oh, so your Pansage is male then. In that case, shake him off Minccino!" Bianca impatiently called out. After a few shakes, Pansage flew off of Minccino's head. "Minccino, use Hyper Voice!" The Chinchilla Pokemon rolled up his ears and sent out a soundwave attack from his mouth, hitting and damaging Pansage. "Now, use Double Slap!" Minccino jumped toward Pansage, ready to strike.

Cilan, however, was ready for that attack. "Pansage, use Dig!" Pansage burrowed underground. After Minccino spent a few seconds looking for Pansage, Pansage jumped out of the ground and threw Minccino into the air. "Now, Pansage, use Bullet Seed." Pansage shot out several seeds from his mouth at Minccino.

"Minccino, use Hyper Voice to deflect the Bullet Seed." Minccino once again rolled up his ears and sent out a sound wave attack from his mouth, deflecting the seeds back at Pansage. "Now, use Double Slap!" Minccino tried to hit the Grass Monkey only for Cilan to call for Pansage to dodge it.

"Now, let's wrap this up, Pansage. Use Solar Beam!" Pansage created an orb of solar energy from the energy stored in his head. After the orb was big enough, he shot it out at Minccino, hitting him and knocking him down.

"Minccino! Are you okay?" Bianca was worried about her Pokemon. Fortunately, Minccino got up and was ready to continue battling. After getting up, Minccino flicked his tails and he sent out a flurry of stars.

"You guys, I think that Minccino just learned Swift!" Dawn called out.

"You may be right, Dawn. Go, Bianca and Minccino!" Iris cried out in support.

"Okay, Minccino, let's use Swift!" Bianca called out. Minccino flicked his tail and sent out a flurry of stars that hit and knocked over Pansage. "Man, Swift is such a great move!"

"Pansage, quick! Use Bite!" Cilan tried to counter the Swift by attacking up close.

"Minccino, use Hyper Voice!" Minccino, after closing his ears, sent out a sound wave from his mouth at Pansage before the Bite could hit, knocking him back.

"Pansage, use Bullet Seed!" Pansage shot out a bunch of seeds from his mouth out at Minccino.

"Minccino, use Swift!" Bianca called out, with the two moves hitting evenly until the Swift got the edge and hit at Pansage, creating a bunch of smoke around the two Pokemon. When the smoke cleared, both Pokemon were still standing until Pansage suddenly fell forward onto the ground unconscious.

"Pansage is unable to battle. Minccino wins. The victory goes to Bianca, the Challenger," the referee made the call.

"Yes! We did it, Minccino. We won! Can you believe it?!" Bianca jumped up and down in excitement with her Minccino.

"Pansage, you did wonderfully. Now, take a good rest," Cilan said as he recalled his Pokemon. "You did wonderfully, Bianca. And for your victory in this Gym you have won this, the Trio Badge!"

"Alright! I have won the Trio Badge!" Bianca cried out in joy, with Minccino also crying out in happiness.

"Now, Ash, who will you choose to battle? Chilli or Cress?" Cilan asked the Challenger.

Ash took a moment to think about it before coming to his decision. "You see, I wouldn't feel like I truly earned this badge without defeating all three Gym Leaders. Not only that, but I would like to battle as many new Pokemon as possible. So, for that reason I would like to challenge all three of you to a battle!" Ash announced his decision.

The three Gym Leaders were definitely surprised at this request. After all, no one had made a request like this before. Still, this was what the Challenger wanted so who were they to question this decision. "Alright, it's a deal. However, can we wait until tomorrow? My Pansage needs some time to recover from today's battle."

"Sure thing. Come tomorrow, I'll have the Trio Badge for sure!" Ash yelled out.


	16. Triple Leaders, Team Threat!

**Listen. I plan to restart the story in order to write in more changes sooner and to try and create more differences than those that exist currently. I was trying to keep true to the anime while creating some changes. I hope to create a stronger story by doing so. However, I obviously am in need of help in writing a story that stays true to the anime's events while still being original. If you have any ideas of changes I can make or new adventures I can write, please let me know. I am always open to constructive criticism. Thanks.**

* * *

Outside of the Pokemon Center, Ash was getting some training in with his Pokemon. In particular, he was training Oshawott, Tepig, and Snivy for his Gym Battle against the Striaton City brothers. Dawn was using some of her Pokemon to help Ash out with training, having both of their teams trade blows with each other.

"Snivy, use Leaf Storm. Oshawott, use Water Gun. Tepig, use Ember." Ash called out for his Pokemon to do. Snivy formed a swarm of leaves, Oshawott shot out a stream of water, and Tepig sent out a flurry of embers.

` "Alright. Piplup, use Bubblebeam. Pachirisu, use Discharge. Quilava, use Flame Wheel," Dawn called out. Piplup sent out several bubbles from his beak that proceeded to hit Ember evenly, Pachirisu shot out a bolt of lightning in several different directions, which all three of Ash's dodged without much trouble, and Snivy's Leaf Storm hit and knocked back Quilava, though not too much because the flames devoured the leaves.

"Perfect. At this rate, we'll be winning that badge for sure!" Ash cried out in excitement.

"I have to admit, you are doing pretty good training for your Gym Battle, Ash. So, which Pokemon will you use for the Gym Battle, anyway?" Iris asked the young trainer.

"Snivy, Oshawott, and Tepig, of course. Considering that I haven't used them in a Gym Battle before and that their types would cover all three of their Pokemon, I don't see why I don't just use them for this battle!" Ash answered.

"Yeah, but that is only for a normal Gym Battle. What if you have to battle them in a Triple Battle?" Iris brought up this valid point.

"A Triple Battle? What's that?" Ash asked Iris.

"You seriously don't know what a Triple Battle is?" Iris asked, shocked at how uninformed the young trainer was.

"Um, no," Ash answered lamely.

"Sorry, I don't know either," Dawn also awkwardly answered.

"Seriously? Okay, fine. A Triple Battle is a type of Battle specific to the Unova region. In these types of battles, you battle with a total of three different Pokemon. The first side to have all of their Pokemon faint loses," Iris explained to the two confused Trainers.

"Oh, so it's like a Double Battle, then," Dawn realized.

"Yeah. It's also a lot like the training we have been doing for the Gym Battle already," Ash said in understanding.

"Yeah, it is. However, I would work a little more on teamwork just in case. After all, while there is the chance that the Striaton City Gym Leaders will just do one on one battles, they could just as easily choose to have a Triple Battle as well. Just saying, better safe than sorry," Iris finished.

"So, Ash. What do you think we should do?" Dawn asked the young trainer.

After a minute of thinking, Ash came up with his answer. "I think that we should do a little more training just to be safe." At this, the duo continued to train their Pokemon for Ash's Gym Battle and for Dawn's future Contests.

* * *

It was the next day and Ash was ready for his Gym Battle at the Striaton City Gym. He arrived early that day and, after having breakfast at the Gym/restaurant, was ready to begin his Gym Battle. On the sidelines were Dawn, who was dressed in a cheerleader outfit, Dawn's Pokemon, who were also dressed in cheerleader outfits with Piplup wearing a male outfit, Bianca, and Iris, who was confused as to why Dawn and her Pokemon were dressed this way.

"Um, not that I'm bothered or anything, but why are you and your Pokemon dressed like cheerleaders?" Iris asked the young Coordinator.

"Oh, you see, back in Sinnoh I felt it would be best for me to cheer Ash on during some of his Gym Battles. It's my way of showing my support for him in his Gym Battles. Ash and my Pokemon also did something similar during my Contests as well, you remember?" Dawn explained to Iris.

"Oh yeah. I remember." Iris responded.

"Well, I have to say that you look very pretty Dawn," Bianca complimented the young Coordinator.

"Thanks, Bianca. Now come on Ash, win this fight. Snivy, Oshawott, Tepig, do it right! All four of you work together! Show them what you know! You got what it takes to win this battle! Go, go, go!" Dawn cheered on Ash and his Pokemon with the help of her own Pokemon.

However, unbeknownst to the group, there was a full group of cheerleaders present in the stands next to them cheering on Cilan, Chili, and Cress. The cheerleaders proceeded to cheer on the Gym Leaders on louder than Dawn and her Pokemon did, "Come on brothers, you can win this! Fight, fight, fight! So go out and show him all your might!"

Meanwhile, down on the battlefield, the three brothers and Ash were preparing for their Gym Battle. "I must say, Ash. Your friend is really enthusiastic about cheering you on," Cilan said.

"Yeah, well it looks like you also have some enthusiastic fans," Ash commented on the group of cheerleaders.

"Well, we find it rude to stop them, so we just let them cheer so long as they don't hurt anyone," Chili explained.

"Speaking of which, we should probably explain the rules for the Gym Battle," Cress offered.

"Yeah, that would be good!" Ash accepted.

At this, the three brothers and Ash went to their respective sides of the field. Upon getting there, the referee proceeded to explain the rules. "The Striaton City Gym Battle of Cilan, Chili, and Cress the Gym Leaders and Ash the challenger will now begin. The battle will be a Triple Battle. Each Gym Leader will use one Pokemon each and the challenger will use three Pokemon to combat the Gym Leaders' Pokemon. The battle will be over once one side's Pokemon are unable to continue. No substitutions will be allowed."

"Well, Iris, it seems that you were right. The three did decide to have a Triple Battle," Dawn said.

"Well, hopefully Ash and his Pokemon trained well enough to combat them. Otherwise, I don't know how they will do," Iris expressed her worry.

"Hey, don't worry. Ash seems like a pretty strong Trainer. I'm sure he will do just fine!" Bianca encouraged.

"Yeah, no need to worry. Ash will win this battle for sure!" Dawn's spirits rose.

"Alright, Pansage your up!" Cilan released Pansage from his Pokeball.

"Pansear, you're up too!" Chili released Pansear from his Pokeball.

"Panpour, come on out!" Cress released Panpour from his Pokeball.

"Just what I was expecting! Snivy, Tepig, Oshawott, I choose you!" Ash called out as he threw the Pokeballs for his three Pokemon, releasing them from their Pokeballs as he did so.

"Alright, ready? Begin!" The referee called out.

"Tepig, use Ember on Pansage! Snivy, use Leaf Storm on Panpour! Oshawott, use Water Gun on Pansear!" Tepig sent a flurry of embers out of his snout. Snivy sent out many leaves out in a storm. Oshawott shot out a stream of water. However, as the attacks approached their opponents, Cilan, Chili, and Cress were unconcerned.

"Pansage, use Dig to dodge!" Cilan called out, with Pansage burrowing under the ground. Chili and Cress proceeded to call out for their Pokemon to use Dig as well.

"Everyone, watch out!" Ash called out to his Pokemon. The trio of Pokemon proceeded to look around for their opponents, only for them to pop up right under them, dealing major damage to Tepig and some damage to Oshawott and Snivy.

"Sorry, Ash. But if you were expecting that winning against us was going to be easy, then think again," Cilan said.

"We've practiced battling with each other all the time!" Chili continued.

"So we know each other's battling style inside and out," Cress finished.

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that. Tepig, use Rollout on Pansear! And Snivy, use Leaf Storm on Panpour! As for you, Oshawott, use Razor Shell on Pansage!" The trio prepared their attacks, with Tepig curling up into a ball, Snivy summoning yet another blizzard of leaves, and Oshawott grabbing his scalchop and forming a water blade with it.

"Pansage, counter Razor Shell with Bite!" Cilan called out, with Pansage biting on Oshawott's arm, causing the water type to freak out.

"Pansear, use Flamethrower on Tepig!" Chili called out, with the fire monkey forming a stream of fire from his mouth. Tepig, however, pushed through the Flamethrower and hit Pansear, causing some major damage.

"Panpour, use Water Gun to counter the Leaf Storm!" Cress called out,with the water monkey blocking a lot of the Leaf Storm with Water Gun, though some of the grass attack got through, damaging the water monkey. "Now, use Focus Punch!" Panpour's hand started to glow brown as the monkey approached the grass snake and did some major damage.

"Oshawott, break free from Bite and use Razor Shell! Tepig, use Ember on Pansear! Snivy, use Leaf Blade on Panpour!" Ash commanded. Oshawott flailed about until his arm until it broke free from Bite and then successfully hit Pansage with Razor Shell.

Tepig shot out a flurry of embers at Pansear. "Pansear, use Fire Punch to block it!" Chili called out, which Pansear blocked with some difficulty.

"Panpour, use Focus Punch to counter Leaf Blade!" Cress cried out, which Panpour did with ease, both attacks clashing with each other.

Both teams returned to their respective sides of the field, both sides clearly getting exhausted from all the fighting that they have done thus far.

"Man, this battle sure is close so far, huh?" Dawn asked Iris and Bianca.

"I know. Ash may be getting some hits in, but still. Those three are really tough as Gym Leaders. At this rate, I'm afraid Ash may just lose," Iris expressed her doubts.

"Come on Ash, you can do it!" Bianca called out to encourage Ash.

"Yeah, come on Ash you can do it right! Go on out and battle now with all your might!" Dawn cheered.

"So, Ash. What do you think of our battling so far?" Cilan asked the young trainer.

"Well, to tell you the truth, you guys are a lot tougher than I anticipated. But, I still plan on winning this. Snivy, use Leaf Blade on Panpour! Tepig, use Ember on Pansage! Oshawott, use Water Gun on Pansear!" Ash cried out for his Pokemon to do.

"Panpour, use Water Gun to counter Oshawott's Water Gun!" Panpour complied, blocking the attack with another attack. "Now, use Ice Punch to counter Leaf Blade," Cress ordered his Panpour to do. Just as Snivy's green glowing tail was about to hit Panpour, Panpour countered by hitting with Ice Punch causing both attacks to collide. The collision lasted for a good while, but eventually, an explosion was caused by the attack. When the dust cleared, both Snivy and Panpour were unconscious.

"Both Snivy and Panpour are unable to battle!" the referee gave the call.

Cress recalled his Panpour and said, "Thanks for a good battle. Now, take a long rest."

"You did an amazing job, Snivy. Now, get a good rest," Ash said as he recalled Snivy.

Meanwhile, Tepig had started to use Ember on Pansage. "Pansage, use Bullet Seed to counter." Cilan cried out. The Grass Monkey shot out multiple seeds that proceeded to counter the Ember. "Now, use Bite on Tepig!" Pansage proceeded to use Bite on Tepig's head, causing a fair amount of damage to the Fire Pig Pokemon.

"Quick, Tepig, use Rollout!" Ash commanded. Tepig complied, rolling into a ball that proceeded to knock Pansage loose from Tepig and roll towards Pansear.

"Pansear, quick! Use Dig to escape!" Chili cried out. However, before Pansear could dodge, Tepig rolled into Pansear, knocking him out.

"Pansear is unable to battle!" the referee made the call.

"All right! You did an amazing job, Tepig!" Ash congratulated his Pokemon.

Chili recalled his defeated Pansear. "Good job. Now take a good rest."

"Wow. I admit, your Pokemon have done well to make it this far, Ash," Cilan congratulated the young trainer.

"Thank you! You and your brothers have done well, too," Ash complimented his opponents.

"But, you know that the battle is still far from over, right?" Cilan asked.

"I know that, and I still plan on winning! Tepig, use Ember on Pansage! Oshawott, use Water Gun on Pansage!" Ash called out.

"Pansage, knock the attacks back with Bullet Seed!" Cilan commanded, keeping the attacks at bay for a few seconds before they broke through Bullet Seed and hit Pansage.

"Yes! Now, let's wrap this up with Ember, Tepig!" Ash called out.

As Tepig prepared to shoot out a flurry of embers from his snout, Cilan commanded, "Now, Pansage, use Solar Beam!" Pansage collected solar energy into his head, and then created an orb of solar energy, which he proceeded to shoot out in a beam at Tepig. When the smoke cleared, Tepig was unconscious.

"Tepig is unable to battle," the referee made the call, leaving both sides with just one more Pokemon.

Tepig, meanwhile, was looking very sad in response to his loss. Ash, noticing this, tried to cheer him up. "Hey, don't worry, Tepig. You did great. Now, take a nice long rest. We'll win this for sure," Ash comforted the Fire Pig as he recalled Tepig to his Pokeball. "Okay, Oshawott, it's all up to you."

* * *

_Meanwhile, at the Dreamyard…_

"Now listen up you three. Your next task is very simple. There are Pokemon here that can create something known as Dream Mist. Your mission is to find these Pokemon and obtain this energy for future Team Rocket use," Giovanni ordered the trio through their computer screen. "Do you understand?"

"Right! Don't worry about a thing, sir. Team Rocket will obtain this mystical energy if it's the last thing we do," Meowth reassured the boss.

"So, how do we collect this energy?" James asked Giovanni.

"There should be the blueprints and parts for the device in the package I sent you recently. Follow the instructions and the device will be ready for use," Giovanni explained.

"Yes, sir! We will do Team Rocket proud!" Jessie said to the Team Rocket boss.

"You better hope so. Giovanni out," the Team Rocket boss concluded the video call.

"Well, you both should get to work. The sooner we finish up the device the sooner we can collect this Dream Mist," Jessie prepared to lie down and rest.

"So, you want us to toil away while you go get a tan? Not likely," James refused this deal.

"Look, it may be best if we work together on this. After all, the boss is expecting a lot from us. We can't let him down," Meowth reasoned.

"You're right. We should get to work right away," Jessie changed her tune, if a bit reluctantly.

"There is one term we can understand and it is how to get rich," the Team Rocket trio sang as they began their work on the machine. Unbeknownst to the trio, they were being spied on by a duo of Team Plasma grunts that were hiding on a pair of broken stone stairs..

"Yeah. We're here. We are going to get the Dream Mist now. There are some foolish people also looking for the Dream Mist. Should we engage?" The female grunt questioned.

"Negative. Your goal is to collect the Dream Mist. Confront them only if necessary. Otherwise, keep out of their sight. This "Team Rocket" or whatever they call themselves is of no threat to us," Ghetsis told the grunt on the other end.

"Understood. Looking for the Pokemon called Munna right now," the male grunt said as the female grunt turned off her earpiece radio.

* * *

Oshawott, meanwhile, was starting to look a bit nervous at the prospect of battling Pansage on his own. Ash noticed this and tried to convince him to battle. "Look. I know that you are feeling down with the idea of facing Pansage on your own. But I know that you can do this. After all, you saved Pikachu and Axew a little while back. You can do this." Ash's encouragement seemed to work as the otter took on a somewhat serious expression. "Great. Now, use Water Gun!" Oshawott shot out a stream of water at the grass monkey.

"Pansage, counter with Bullet Seed!" Cilan called out, with both attacks hitting evenly at first, before Bullet Seed eventually got more powerful and hit Oshawott. "You'll have to try harder than that in order to beat us, Ash!"

"Okay then, let's change tactics with Tackle!" Oshawott Tackled toward Pansage, hitting the grass monkey back towards Cilan.

"Pansage! Are you okay?" Cilan called out in concern. Pansage nodded in agreement. "Alright, then let's use Dig!" Pansage burrowed underground, much to Oshawott's confusion.

"Be careful, Oshawott!" Ash cried out as Oshawott looked around the arena for where Pansage would pop up. However, eventually Oshawott was thrown into the air by Pansage. "No! Oshawott, use Water Gun!" Oshawott shot out a stream of water at Pansage, which proceeded to hit him square in the chest. "Great! Now, use Razor Shell!" Oshawott grabbed his scalchop off of his body and tried to slice at Pansage.

"Pansage, use Bullet Seed!" Pansage shot out many Bullet Seeds out at Oshawott, knocking him onto the ground.

"Man, this is looking bad. At this rate, Ash may lose," Iris showed her concern.

"I know. And things were looking so good, too," Bianca pouted.

"Hey, I've known Ash for a long time and he isn't one to give up easily. He'll win this. You'll see," Dawn cheered on her old friend.

"Alright, I think that it's about time we wrap this up. Pansage, use Solar Beam!" Cilan cried out. Pansage proceeded to gather energy for his most powerful attack.

"Oshawott, No!" Ash cried out in concern.


	17. Author's Note

**A/N: Listen. I plan to restart the story in order to write in more changes sooner and to try and create more differences than those that exist currently. I was trying to keep true to the anime while creating some changes. I hope to create a stronger story by doing so. However, I obviously am in need of help in writing a story that stays true to the anime's events while still being original. If you have any ideas of changes I can make or new adventures I can write, please let me know. I am always open to constructive criticism. Thanks. Oh, and here is a paragraph to help show how I plan to change the story.**

It all started with a coronation. Deep underground, there was a castle with those that were left unknown to Unova were hidden. It was here that seven robed men were waiting for their soon to be king to be crowned king of Team Plasma. Team Plasma is an organization that sees the world of being a Pokemon trainer as wrong. There were many that believed in their soon to be king's ideals. Being cruel to Pokemon was a bad thing and many wished for Pokemon to be treated better than they currently were. Even if it meant that they should be separated from people forever.


End file.
